The Roboticist
by Dahmiel
Summary: Jaune is a teenage 'scientist' who specialize in Dust, Aura, and robotic research. After a curious experiment resulted in an android gaining a soul, he was recruited by Dr. Polendina to continue the research. Through a series of off-screen events, Jaune found himself at Beacon Academy continuing his work as the Head of the Beacon's new Technology Department.
1. Concept 1 DEFUNCT

**This is a very old concept. Further fueled by SLVR "Viridian" Trailer and Penny.**

**This is a difficult concept to piece together since the notes were all over the place. You will have to forgive the jumpiness of the plot in this chapter.**

* * *

**CONCEPT [Multiple]**

Lying on an operating table was a humanoid android that appeared to be a heavily modified version of the Altesian Knight-130. Its visor was tinted dark green, along with the rest of its body color scheme; black and green.

Jaune tinkered on the android's insides and reached into his lab coat pocket. He pulled out his PDA that monitored the android's status and placed it on a tray beside him.

"Almost there." Jaune said. He pushed away a strain of his blond hair and wiped sweat from his brow. "Then, I'll awaken you."

He hoisted up the welder and started to fuse the "veins" of his android. The emerald colored wires stuck into the glowing green core as Jaune skillfully guided them around the torso. After he completed welding the "veins" of his android, Jaune started to reassemble the main components of the torso before closing it.

"Here we go."

Taking a deep breath, Jaune placed both hands onto the android's torso and channeled his aura into it. The green visor on the android flickered into life as Jaune channeled his imparted part of his soul into its core, awakening it.

The android slowly sat up and glanced around before settling onto Jaune.

"Can you understand me?" Jaune asked the android. "Nod your head if you can understand me." Jaune said and nodded his head as a demonstration.

The android stared at Jaune with its green visor. It then glanced at its hand, clenching and unclenching it before returning its gaze towards its creator.

After a moment, it nodded. He smiled and took a step back while picking up his PDA. "I'm going to activate your voice module. Try saying something, anything when I activate it."

He pressed a series of button while smiling as the android slowly got up from its table and stand on its legs without issue. The android surveyed the room it was situated before walking slowly towards Jaune.

It stopped a few feet away from him and waited intently as Jaune worked on the PDA.

"Done." Jaune said as he activated the android's voice module, allowing it to talk.

"Done?" The android responded, tilting its head.

Jaune grinned excitedly. "Yup. Welcome to the world of Remnant, Verdant! Oh, and Happy Birthday as well!"

…

Ozpin and Glynda clutched their heads as they watched a dark green, heavily modified, Atlesian Knight-130 demolished an entire acre of forests and grimms.

The situation was absurd from the start.

An Atlesian Knight-130 was practically a low rank and file combat android that's used as security against low leveled grimms and people who have yet to unlock their aura. It was practically cannon fodder!

And now a modified version of it appeared out of nowhere and started tearing up the entire forest. The strength and speed possessed by this model was unbelievable, and rivals that of even the best fourth-year students of Beacon Academy.

"What is that." Glynda choked as she watched the android use its halberd to cleave through hordes of grimms and trees with ease. "It's mowing down the entire forest, Ozpin! And it's heading straight towards the academy!"

"It appears to be a heavily modified version of an Atlesian Knight-130." Ozpin said bluntly. "And I am very well aware of its current course."

"I know that, Ozpin!" She shouted and slammed her hand down on the table. "Are we just going to let it come to us? What if it poses a threat to the students?"

Ozpin set his mug aside and got up from his seat. "I understand your concern, which is why we are moving to intercept it. Quickly now."

As they reached an elevator, Professor Port called in with a concerned expression. "Headmaster, it seems that Team CFVY has left the campus, and is planning on investigating and intercepting the intruder."

"What?!" Glynda shrieked.

…

Verdant. That is his name. Verdant is not an it.

"It" is subjective as Verdant chose to be identified with a masculine pronoun due to its designated name sounding masculine.

The subject is not relevant currently.

What is relevant is Verdant's current objective: Clear out the forest of grimms.

Recently, a large number of grimms have been converging on his creator's laboratory. That is unacceptable. The hordes of grimm was compromising the safety of his creator, who is essentially his father. Verdant proudly volunteered to eliminate the grimms while his father works on upgrading Ciana, his younger android sibling.

With the blessing of his father; Verdant set out to do his task.

Unfortunately, it appears that Verdant may have taken his objective to literally or misunderstood it. He has cleared out the forest of grimm… And the forest itself.

Not to mention he wasn't told when to stop. He'll have to designate a time to stop, but for now it appears that the grimms have a major migration path that stems from this direction.

Was that building always there? On top of a mountain and cliff? Verdant slowed down his advancement and destruction; wondering how far he had gone. He turned his attention towards a Ursa Major that tried maul him, only to be decapitated with a single stroke from his halberd.

Verdant ceased his attack when there were no more grimms nearby. The android stared up at the cliff and took in the architecture of the gigantic structure. His attention snapped back towards his surroundings as he heard the sound of twigs snapping. Verdant shifted his halberd into rifle form and fired two shots at the sound.

He would had fired more if it weren't for the fact that his target managed to block the bullets with a large sword.

Human.

It would appear that there were people near this grimm infested area. Judging by his weapon, he is most likely a huntsman and not a bandit. Before Verdant could say anything, he felt something moving towards him from behind. The android turned around and swung his weapon to meet his attacker.

A dark-skinned boy with copper hair wielding bladed gauntlet locked blades with the shaft of his halberd. Verdant tightly held on to his weapon as the boy try to disarm him. When his attempted failed, the boy retreated and stood his ground observing Verdant.

The sound of whirling gears caught his attention and the android turned around to face a dark brown-haired girl wearing a beret and sunglasses. She was also holding a giant minigun.

Another girl was standing next to her, a rabbit faunus wielding a camera. How odd.

"Don't move, tin can." The girl with the beret said with a smirk.

Hostile.

Understandably, he had shown sign of aggression by attacking first. But it appears that these four have no intention of resolving this peacefully. With his lack of experience in interacting with another sentient lifeform, aside from his creator, Verdant did the only thing he could think of in an attempt to protect himself.

"Anti-Personnel Protocol, initiating."

…

Coco staggered back as the green android swung his halberd once more into her minigun. The impact sent her flying into several trees, uprooting them in the process.

The moment they heard the blasted android talked; everything went downhill as the android outmatched them in every single display. It overpowered Yatsuhashi, out foxed Fox, and launched poor Velvet into a tree.

Coco tried to pick herself up. Her arms were numbed from the impact and her heart was beating at an unbelievable pace. But her arms gave out and Coco collapsed again.

She braced for the finishing move, but the android stood its ground.

Silence.

She lifted her head and saw that the android was surveying its surroundings, not even bothering to glance at her or any of her teammates. However, it didn't appear that the android wasn't belittling them, but rather a more serious threat has emerged.

Glynda had the fiercest expression that made Coco's heart stop for a few second.

The blond woman was shrouded in a purple aura that shone unbelievably bright, and was levitating large chunks of earth, stone, and tree trunks. Ozpin stood by her side and studied the green android.

It stared back at the two powerful figures before speaking.

"Cease hostilities. Peaceful resolution desired." It said with a dull voice, while slightly lowering his weapon.

Ozpin nodded and placed a hand on Glynda's shoulder. "Yes, let's not escalate this… Misunderstanding."

Glynda narrowed her eyes but complied as she stopped glowing and dropped all objects around her. The android followed suit in deescalating the tension, collapsing its halberd and placing it behind its back.

"Now then… May I ask, who are you?" Ozpin asked as he tapped his cane, intrigued.

"I am designated as Verdant, by my father and creator." It said with a surprisingly proud tone. "Please identified yourself." Verdant asked back.

"I am Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy." He then motioned at Glynda. "And this is Glynda Goodwitch, Professor of Combat Studies and Representative of Beacon Academy."

"Your names have been acknowledged and archived."

Ozpin nodded and turned his attention towards Team CFVY with a concerned expression. "Team CFVY, are you alright?"

All of Team CFVY confirmed that they were okay before slowly getting up. Glynda made sure they were okay before ushering them up the hill and into a bullhead while she and Ozpin deal with the strange android named Verdant.

"Now then. Might I ask why you were… Destroying the forest? While we do not mind the fact that your actions helped clear out the grimms in the process. We were concerned that you may pose a risk towards the students and staff of Beacon Academy."

Verdant seemed surprised judging how the android jolted its head. "My apologies. My objective was to clear the forests of grimms. It appears…" Verdant halted.

…

It took Ozpin's statement about destroying the forests; that Verdant came to the realization of what his father might had actually meant about clearing the forest of grimms.

After re-evaluating his objective, Verdant instinctively facepalmed; surprising Ozpin and Glynda. He dragged his metallic hand across his visor causing them to wince at the screeching metal sound.

Further evaluation shows that he has, spectacularly, compromise his father's location by bringing down the trees in the forest. A large path of downed trees leads straight towards his father's secret laboratory.

Not to mention his clearing of the surrounding trees around the laboratory as well! He has to get back to his father's side! Ciana is currently with father, but Verdant doesn't trust in her abilities considering how she was awakened just a month ago.

"I must return to father's side!"

"Wait!" Ozpin called out, but Verdant turned into a green blur and was already over the horizon.

Ozpin and Glynda stood there looking a bit baffled before Ozpin snapped out of his daze. "Glynda, change of plans. I'll be following this… Verdant."

Glynda gave Ozpin a blank look. "Ozpin, I think that if we were to follow him. We should be supported by Port and Oobleck. We also need to get Team CFVY back to the academy."

"Do not worry, Glynda. I can take care of myself. Return to Beacon with Team CFVY, I want to talk with Verdant's creator. I have a feeling that our meeting will be quite… Enlightening."

…

Jaune wiped his brows and place a hand on his hip while grinning. The blond boy was pleased with the recent upgrade he implemented for Ciana; his recent creation.

It's been thirty-five days since the awakening of Ciana; Verdant is roughly over a year old and the two were already bickering like children.

Anyway, he upgraded the physical performance for Ciana with the salvaged parts from several Atlesian Knight-130 and an almost obliterated Atlesian Spider Droid. He found them near a train track when he was taking a drive on his hovercraft.

He could not believe his luck!

Jaune even found some Atlesian Knights that were minimally destroyed, often missing a head or limbs. He took the liberty to repaired and reprogrammed them, while adjusting their proficiencies in combat.

It's been nothing but good fortune all week.

"How are you feeling, Ciana?" Jaune asked the blue colored android.

Ciana is a few inches smaller than Verdant, but much denser and sleeker. Despite her appearance, she's capable of holding her ground against Verdant in combat.

The blue android inspected her arms that were now sleeker and less rugged. After clenching and unclenching her hands, she pushed off from the operating table and stood up.

"I feel wonderful, father. You have my sincerest appreciation and gratitude. My statistical readings indicate that my performance has improved by 73% from their original parameters."

"Glad you like it." Jaune said with a big smile. "Now then, I'll clean up the mess. Go out and tell your brother that I'm finished."

"Yes, father." Ciana complied but halted when she saw Jaune's scroll alarm went off.

The perimeter alert system picked up a human or faunus coming from half a mile away. Whoever it was, it was coming closer towards her father's laboratory, fast.

"Oh? We have visitors?" Jaune said with a curious expression.

He pulled up his scroll and pulled up the camera monitors. Jaune had installed hidden cameras into the mountains, and they currently displayed a whole acre of forests, deforested.

"… Hey Ciana."

"Yes, father?"

"What happened to the trees?"

"Why, I think we should ask Verdant about that." She said, sarcasm oozing from her feminine, robotic voice.

…

Verdant hastily slipped into the mountain cave and allowed the sensors to scan his visor. The metal doors slowly opened revealing Ciana who blocked his path.

"Move aside, Ciana."

"Too incompetent, your statement was."

The two androids "glared" at each other through their visors. They would have continued the stare down, but their upmost priority is to protect their father. Saving their squabble for later, they tapped into the security network and activated all of their combat droids.

Altered and repainted versions of sixty Atlesian Knight-130 and ten miniature Spider droids mobilized to intercept the incoming intruder. Other unique models were to stay inside the facility for now. It would be unwise to display all trump cards currently.

"Does your processing system allow you to compute; that you had just essentially lead an intruder towards our home, brother?"

"I am well aware, sister. But the destruction I had left in my wake has, unfortunately, exposed the location of our home."

"Indeed, it has. Your statement about my incompetence earlier serves-"

Jaune interrupted their argument by waving a hand between his two robotic children. They ceased their bickering and turned towards their father who is currently smiling.

"Now, now. Let's receive our guest with precaution before we make any decisions." He said and walked forward into the open.

He stretched his arms and brushed his lab coat; feeling the dazzling sunlight overhead. A crackling green orb slowly landed several meters from him and dissipated. A man with silver hair and dark specs stepped forward.

His combat droids spread out and took cover behind fallen trees, while the miniature Spider droids displayed their full height.

Verdant stepped in front of Jaune, while Ciana took to his left behind him. Jaune sighed at his children's overprotectiveness. They were always like this. He's not sure why, but he'll have to remind them someday that he can handle things by himself.

The silver-haired man studied Jaune for a bit before finally speaking. "I take it, you are Verdant's creator?"

Jaune smiled. "Creator, father… You can take your pick, but yes I was the one who brought them to life. Your name? Mister…?"

"Ozpin. I am Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy. I am already acquainted with Verdant here, but I'm not familiar with you or the one standing behind you."

Jaune mused for a moment. "My name is Jaune. And this is my 'daughter' Ciana."

…

Ozpin breathed a sigh of relief when Jaune didn't show any hostile intention. After a quick conversation, the blond boy in the white lab coat ordered his androids to stand down and welcomed him into his laboratory.

That excluded his two "children", Verdant and Ciana.

Verdant stood roughly a few inches taller than General Ironwood himself. The android was coated in black paint but possessed a dark green visor with the same colored markings across his body.

Ciana is tall, but not to the same height as Verdant. Maybe slightly shorter than Ironwood. The android is modelled with a narrowed blue visor and possessed the same body markings over her body in its respectable colors. Unlike Verdant, this android had a sleek look to it, but was obviously powerful in close quarter combat.

Ozpin marveled at the robots that Jaune was working on. There was a humanoid android with its lower body modelled after a horse. The words "PROJECT Centaur" was plastered on the scattered blueprints nearby.

He felt a hand behind his back and was gently shoved forward by Verdant. He nearly gasped by the contact, not because of the suddenness, but because Verdant has aura.

Aura is the manifestation of one's soul. A life force that runs through every living creature of Remnant.

"You… Have aura?" Ozpin asked the green android.

"Yes. It was bestowed upon me by my father. Now move."

"Verdant! Be nice to Professor Ozpin." Jaune snapped causing Verdant to back away from him. Ciana glanced back at Verdant and Ozpin swear she was smirking.

"Yes father. My apologies, Professor Ozpin." Verdant said dully.

"Sorry Professor Ozpin. Verdant and Ciana are very protective of me. They are quite zealous when it comes to defending our home."

Ozpin smiled. "Not to worry. I'm just surprised that they are capable of projecting aura. I didn't think that was possible. No offense to any of you three… Or two."

"None taken." Jaune said with a wave. "Have a seat, professor." Jaune motioned at a cushioned couch.

He took a seat and rested his cane at his side. Jaune took a seat to the right-hand side of Ozpin; Verdant and Ciana stood by their creator's side.

"So…" Jaune started. "I take it that Verdant did something to warrant your attention."

'_That is an understatement' _Ozpin thought before explaining about the whole ordeal. He explained about how Verdant's unintended path of destruction carried all the way to Beacon Academy and his battle against Team CFVY.

"I see." Jaune said, while Verdant hung his head low while Ciana stood straighter.

Ozpin found it hilarious that this meeting was like a parent-teacher conference. In all his previous incarnations, he would never imagine a scenario like this.

"Rest assure, no real harm has been done. The deforested path only makes things easier for students to spot out grimms. As for Team CFVY, they only suffer from aura depletion."

"That's a relief." The blond boy said and turned towards the green android. "Verdant. I understand that I did not clarify on your task and you are still learning, so I will not truly blame you for this occurrence."

"Thank you, father."

"However, what do you have to say to Professor Ozpin?"

"Professor Ozpin," Verdant started without any hesitation. "I apologize for my recent behavior."

'_This really does feel like a teacher-parent conference…'_ Ozpin thought in amusement before speaking. "You are forgiven, Verdant. This was a misunderstanding and both parties had good intentions."

"I must apologize as well, Professor Ozpin." Jaune said with a thoughtful expression. "Once this ordeal is over, I'll transport you back to your academy on my personal airship. It'll save you the hassle."

"Thank you, Jaune. Though I must wonder. What's bright young man like you hiding in a place like this? Although… Judging from the results you produced, it does seem obvious why you would want to hide."

Jaune merely shrugged. "I no longer remembered my reasons for isolating myself. I happened upon this abandoned facility hidden and left behind during the Great war. I simply used my technical expertise to repurpose the place."

"I see, and how did you manage this place by yourself? How do you feed yourself? It seems that you didn't have these children of yours to assist you back then." Ozpin asked, intrigued.

The blonde grinned. "I have my own ways of making money. My expertise in Dust, aura, and robotics isn't a trivial thing. I grow my own food, mainly vegetables and fruits. Anything else I would buy from the city of Vale."

"Hm-hmm. Two more questions before I go. Who taught you on your expertise? A prodigy must had learnt it from somewhere…"

"I'm flattered. My mentor was Dr. Polendina, but to be honest; his lessons were more like crash courses to me. I did the rest on my own."

"Interesting." Ozpin will have to get into contact with General Ironwood after this. The general is working with Dr. Polendina in groundbreaking technology right now. Jaune would make a fine edition, probably… "Last question, how would you like to enroll in Beacon Academy?"

…

General Ironwood sat at his desk drinking coffee from his mug. A notification for his inbox caught his attention and he set the mug down.

Opening his inbox, Ironwood saw who the sender was and quickly opened the attachment.

The attachment was from Ozpin, listing out a recent ordeal regarding a young man named Jaune Arc. Ironwood picked a bad time to pick up his mug as he spilled it over his white coat and trousers.

"Impossible." Ironwood said with a shocked expression. He snatched his scroll and ran out of his office, ignoring the stares of his peers as he made his way towards Dr. Polendina lab.

…

"I am combat ready." Penny said cheerfully.

Her swords hovered around her. Their movement controlled by the wires she attached to her swords. Just as she was about to complete her combat diagnosis, General Ironwood came bursting into the lab, panting.

There also appears to be coffee stain on his white coat and trousers. How odd.

Penny frowned as the general lumbered over to her father, Dr. Polendina and showed him something with his scroll. Her father's eyes widen, and he gripped the scroll from Ironwood's hand.

Penny tilted her head and wondered out loud. "I wonder what got father and uncle's attention today?"

* * *

**THANK YOU!**

**For your feedback and criticism! **

**I am very well aware how AWFUL this concept is currently, so rest assure that this is a CONCEPT and will be REVISED someday. **

**Thank you!**


	2. Prologue

**This is my favorite concept/prologue for this old story. **

**That said, there are some rushed parts in this story. You may find them... Obvious. Anyway, chapters will stem solely from this concept since I actually have one or two chapters to fill out based on this one.**

**Rest assure, the chapters will have action and fighting in them. Some interesting inventions as well...**

**Class has resumed. It's going to be a busy year.**

* * *

Concept 2 – Prologue

When Jaune's aunt and uncle came to visit for one of his younger sister's birthday, they also gave thirteen-years old Jaune a robotics kit. Something for the kid to think through seeing how analytical and observant Jaune could be at times.

It was mostly out of pity/sympathy since Jaune was the only male sibling in this household. It was a great wonder how Jaune didn't develop gynophobia seeing how his sisters can be… Unruly.

Of course, the robotics kit was beyond Jaune's intellectual scope as Jaune's aunt complained to her husband. It was a kit made for enthusiasts and university students studying engineer and other related fields. But somehow Jaune's uncle thought it was a good idea. There was no way a child could understand the assembly and programming textbook anyway, much less, performed the actual tasks.

The assembly wasn't just some robotic toy model with obvious pre-existing parts to glue together. It was a freeform assembly kit; ranging from the exterior to interior parts that need to be designed and crafted. This included everything from controllers, sensors, energy components powered by Dust, etc.

The metal parts used to construct the body were to be traced from sheets of metal and needed to be cut out using the metal cutter that was included in the kit.

Yeah… As Jaune's father said to his brother.

"Where did you get this?" He asked with a concerned expression.

He didn't have the heart to prevent Jaune from going through the kit despite all the dangerous tools and parts listed. At least not without adult supervision. It was the only thing so far that could keep Jaune from pestering his father about being a Huntsman, and that was a breather.

"Oh, I got three kits from my old friend, Dr. Polendina. I gave Jaune the Basic kit. The other two are Intermediate and Advanced." Jaune's uncle ratted off causally.

"That's basic?!" Jaune's father said bewildered. The kit was practically a suitcase that's almost a meter tall and wide.

"Trust me, you don't want to see the others."

"And why did Dr. Polendina gave you these kits?"

"They were being replaced with a newer series. Those three were the last leftover in his inventory, so Dr. Polendina decided to drop them off at my house since the apprentices and interns were invested in the newer series. He said I could sell them or something. Apparently, enthusiasts would pay a handsome amount to get their hands on one, but I since I don't know any…"

"Ugh, that does sound like Dr. Polendina…" Jaune's father groaned, remembering the slightly erratic man.

As the adults were talking, Jaune was invested in reading the assembly manual and playing with the smaller take-apart samples. There were words that didn't make sense, but the diagrams, the samples, those made sense to him.

It was almost as if he had a natural aptitude for this.

Indeed, much to their surprise in a few days; Jaune picked up very, very quickly. The large kit was blown through within a week and the models were almost finished. Well, just the assembly of the model.

Programming it would be the next step afterward.

Of course, Jaune wouldn't have made it that quick and far if it weren't for the help from his father's friend. A weaponsmith named Sheen Smith.

"Can this be done?" Jaune asked him regarding the retractable mask visor for his half-meter tall, bipedal android.

It was modeled after the Atlesian Knight-130 but heavily altered giving it a knightlier appearance along with the Arc's symbol on its torso.

Sheen laughed at Jaune's question. "Kid, I make mechashift weapons for a living! I may not be, eh… What them called? Roboticist? But this? This is easy! Come 'ere, let me show ya how to structure a basic shifting part."

* * *

Jaune carefully welded the visor onto the exposed head of his mini AK-130. He'll have to name it something else later, but the only thing he could think of is 'Arc Knight' at the moment.

Sheen nodded in approval of Jaune's handling of the welder. "Steady and even. Good job, kid."

"Thanks, Mr. Smith. I couldn't have done it without you."

Jaune stepped away from the miniature android and powered it on with its PDA. It was time to activate and test the android's motor abilities.

"Powering on, eh? Let's see how the little bugger walk with all them parts we stuck on." He watched as the young boy tapped away on his PDA, powering on the miniature android.

The mask-visor snapped down as the android slowly powered up. The mask-visor and the Arc's symbol on the torso flickered red indicating that it was functional. The android snapped up straight and held its position as Jaune took a brief moment to take note of all the preexisting movement commands.

The PDA acts like a master controller; from basic movements to programming, all of those stems from the PDA that he holds.

But for now, his main focus is on the basic movements for his android. Left, right, backward, forward, diagonal, jump, and the movement of its arms and head. If he wired the limbs and welded parts onto the body correctly, along with taking into consideration of its balance, weight, etc. etc.… The android should move smoothly as far as technology can allow it to.

It's a lot of work but rewarding if successful. If not, it gives Jaune something to work and improve on.

"And now, for the moment of truth…" Jaune said as he commanded the android to walk forward. It moved as instructed, and quite smoothly. He then commanded it to move left, and then right. The android weaved its legs smoothly. With the sensors implemented, it ensured that it did not tangle itself.

Sheen whistled and clapped his hands. "Wooo-wee! Look at it go! How does it not tangle itself on its own leg?"

"It's the sensors on the legs, Mr. Smith. There's a lot of programs that were already built-in. I just had to make the robot suitable for the programs or edit those programs, which I don't know how to do, yet."

"Yeesh, thank Oum's for preexisting stuff and templates. Huh?"

Jaune laughed, "Thank Oum's indeed!"

After testing the android's movement, he focused on the arms and head. The arms were one of the most difficult parts to make and design. The wires had to be webbed throughout the palms and into the fingers. Those then had to be connected to the core and have their properties be listed so that the program will know that these are arms not and not the legs.

You also need to make sure that the interior has working joints, then make sure that the outer parts were welded correctly. Then make sure that the properties for the hands are for hands possessing five-digit fingers… The list goes on and on.

It's all part of the manual. Thank Oum's for existing templates…

"Going for the arms now, kid?" Sheen said wincing.

He had heard all of the complicated stuff that Jaune had to do in order to get the arms on board. This kid was thirteen-years old and is already doing something that bachelor's or master's students would be doing.

"Yeah, I think it should be working as intended," Jaune said as he commanded the android waved its arms, clench and unclenched its hands. "It works!" He cheered.

Sheen slapped his hand on Jaune's back. "Damn kid! Congratulations! I can't actually believe you did all of this in a week!"

"T-thanks," Jaune said bashfully. "Next is the programming?"

"Aye… That's me cue to leave. I rather craft complex weapons while fighting Grimm then do whatever yer about to do."

* * *

Programming was difficult, but the manual helped out. Of course, it took months in order to perfect and understand the logic, algorithms, structures, and more.

It was fun to Jaune, regardless. Not so for his family who had no idea what he was diving into.

Days become weeks, and weeks become months.

Jaune perfected his abilities in robotics, but he also wanted to learn how to fight Grimm. Maybe not as a huntsman entirely, but enough to defend himself from Grimm. That was something his father can put up with, especially when the world is constantly under threat by the Creatures of Grimm.

Needless to say, training was tough.

Jaune collapsed on the ground, panting as his father soundly defeated him once more.

"Take a break for the day, son. Especially from your robot stuff as well." Jaune's father said as the older Arc started to put away the training sword and shield.

"Yes, dad." He managed to breathe out. Jaune will definitely be out of commission for the day.

His arms are sore, and his legs had all their muscles pulled. On the bright side, he can take a break from the workaholic nature he had developed these months. Maybe watch a documentary or pondered about something.

Jaune slowly picked himself up and made his way towards the bathroom to shower. Warm water poured onto his head, flattening his blond hair. Listening to the sound of water pouring, a strange idea suddenly popped into his mind.

Aura was used to strengthened weapons. Robots were often used to replace humans in certain fields or utilized as extra muscles. They can be stronger than your average human, but trained huntsmen can easily take them out. Heck, even huntsmen-in-training can cut through a small horde of them.

This was obviously prevalent with all the train robberies committed by the White Fang, so what happens if a robot can generate its own aura? It'll probably make things much harder for the train robberies to occur, not to mention the effectiveness of having a tougher robot.

But for that to work, someone needs to be constantly applying aura, or… The robot can generate aura itself because it has a soul! Is this possible? Sounds impossible… But it won't hurt to try. Though… Will it be considered a living being?

The possibilities are endless…

It was a pointless thought. A childish, dead-end thought, but Jaune's mind whirled as the idea would practically haunt him to throughout the years.

* * *

Jaune's uncle sent over the last two remaining robotic kit for Jaune, allowing him to work and improve his robotics abilities. Jaune also saw improvement in his combat and aura manipulation proficiency.

His ability to manipulate aura has drastically improved and his combat abilities were considered, according to his father, above-average despite never attending any combat academy. With that said, his father was still reluctant in letting him to actively hunt Grimm.

Even though it sounded dangerous the area around the town contained only weak Grimm. Hunters-in-training, younger than Jaune, can take care of a group of small Beowolves without much issue. Meanwhile, his father wouldn't let him do so without close supervision.

It was an embarrassment and annoyance to Jaune, but he didn't say anything about it out of consideration for the tragic fate that befell upon his father's team. Nonetheless, if this keeps up Jaune will take matters into his own hands if he has to.

As for the robotics kit, Jaune struggled on the Intermediate and Advanced kit. Learning and understanding the procedures was a large part of it. The other was making small, functioning models to test the functionalities before implementing their concept to a greater scale.

Programming was more difficult. There are numerous paths to take, each with their own perks and downsides. Taking one path may only lead to another, and another, or you can code your own path, but that can get very complicated later on. Thankfully, there were preexisting programs with helpful tips and comments to assist him.

Over these past few months, the far-fetched idea of a robot possessing aura was slowly creeping into his mind.

Jaune let it fester as he continued to work on his latest project. The advanced kit allowed him to construct larger robots, but the work is time-consuming. It took him roughly a year to get the entirety of his 5'7-foot robot to stand properly, and that's before he could even turn it on.

You cannot magnify a robot and expect the same difficulties to be presented within it as you would expect from the smaller robots. Weight, balance, and movement are some of the major components that Jaune had to deal with.

If the arm is too heavy, then it won't be able to move. The same could be applied for the bending of the joints. One problem would arise after another, but Jaune was resourceful enough to work around those issues.

These issues were amplified without a proper lab, but he was able to make use of Sheen's weapon forge. Speaking of weapons, Jaune also made his own set of weapons two months ago as a 'small' side project.

Jaune's new weapon, Règne, and Révérer, was an imitation of his family's heirloom, Crocea Mors. It was a simple sword and a retractable shield. The shield, Reverer, also acted as a sheath and could also be merged with his sword, Regne, to form a broadsword.

But other than that, it was all it could do.

It threw everyone off by surprised. They would expect a creative thinker like Jaune to make something more complicated but having to deal with a lot of moving parts within a robot can be daunting.

Not to mention the maintenances…

Weapons aside, the android was finally assembled as Jaune welded the retractable mask-visor onto its head. Its appearance was identical to the first one he built back when he was tinkering with the basic kit.

Jaune grinned as he stepped away from the android. "Finally, it's done."

He powered on the android and crossed his fingers as he started his tests.

Movement and balance.

The android moved its joints and walked around smoothlyof causing his grin to widen with each successful test.

"Motor function is doing well." He nodded as he commanded the android to make a fist and punch the air all without staggering. "Balanced as well… HAHA! Yes!"

Jaune jumped into the air with joy as the android completed his basic tests without any issue. It was on his first try too!

"Alright. Let's see if you can open this door." Jaune gave the orders from his PDA; carefully maneuvering the android towards the large door. "Okay, okay… Right hand out. Grasp, bend arms to pull…"

The android gently grabbed the door handle and tugged on it, bending its arms and turning its shoulder. The door slowly swung open and the android stepped aside for Jaune to go through.

"Hey, Mr. Smith! Look what I just finished!" Jaune called out to the weaponsmith.

Sheen looked up from his work and raised an eyebrow as his android walked through the door.

"Kid. Did you steal Atlas's super-secret android foot soldier? Cause that's what it looks like right now."

"I think my android looks better than theirs so far. Don't you agree?" Jaune said, turning to his android and giving it the command to nod in agreement.

"Ha! Can't argue with that. Damn kid, already done with yer fancy androids? Let me guess, programming is the next one?"

"Yup. Well… I actually have another idea planned for this guy, but there is no guarantee that it would work."

That idea being if Jaune can grant his android aura.

It was possibly one of the stupidest things that had ever come across his mind. All living things have aura; humans, faunus, animals… That's why it's possible for one to unlock their aura or have another unlock it for them.

As for constructs like his android, it's simply not possible. At least, not until he merges a soul into it. A part of his soul, not someone else. Those aura manipulation theories book he read gave him some pretty odd ideas, including some fictional books as well.

Sheen's eyes were already glossed over the moment Jaune mentioned programming, so he didn't take notice of the other 'idea' Jaune was talking about. Instead, he waved dismissively at Jaune.

"Aye, aye. The last time yer programming mumbo jumbo came into me workshop, it killed me head."

Jaune snickered at the flashback of Sheen shutting down when he was rambling about voice activations. The poor man looked like his soul was slowly leaving his body.

The sky was quickly setting, so Jaune should be returning home as instructed by his parents.

"Alright, I'll be going. Don't want to put an end to you, yet. Oh, There's not much of a mess in my area. The scraps are in the scrap box, and the tools put away. The only things left are the-"

"Not a problem. Leave 'em, kid. You've been a saint compared to just about any visitor 'ere. Just clean up after yerself when you return."

"Will do. Goodbye Mr. Smith."

"Yeah, yeah. Good night, kid."

* * *

"Dad, mom, sis! Look who I brought back!" Jaune shouted as he controlled his android. He couldn't help but grin as his father caught sight of his android. His old man nearly tensed, combat-ready, but instantly relaxed his guard when he saw the Arc's symbol on the android's torso.

"Is… That what you've been building all this time?" His father asked, amazed.

His mother peeked her head out from the kitchen and shared the same awed look his father was currently expressing.

"Yup, worth the time and effort!" Jaune said proudly as he gave the input for the android to wave its hand.

"Jaune!" His eldest sister snarled as she stormed over towards her little brother. "Your robot brought sand into the house! Again!"

"Aw, but-"

"No buts!" His eldest sister said coldly and shoved him towards the closest where they kept the vacuum cleaner. "Clean this up, or you'll be the one hitting the scrap pile."

"Yes, sis…" He conceded, powering off his android and controller.

His parents looked on with amusement as Jaune's achievement was overshadowed by his sisters once again. That said, they will always make sure that they will congratulate and give Jaune the proper respect he deserves. Just… Not when they are 'needy'.

After vacuuming the floor and cleaning the sole of his android, Jaune's eldest sister came over and gave him a pat on the back. His other sisters were away or asleep at the moment, which gave Jaune a peace of mind as he made his way to his room. He said goodnight to his parents and eldest sister before going to bed.

Just kidding. He'll be up all night manipulating his aura for his little experiment tonight.

He had let this odd idea festered for years now, and he'll be damned if he didn't make the best of it now that he has completed one-third of his ambitious project.

Ambitious is debatable actually, but the points still stand.

Jaune had his android laid flat on its back and started channeling his aura into it. His aura will act as a conduit for his soul during the transfer.

"Okay, Jaune. You can do this. Just a small piece of your soul. Nothing important will be lost." He said as his aura swirled into the core and head of the android.

As his aura stabilized inside the android, Jaune started to dive deep into his heart, mind, and soul. His soul, residing deep within him. Immaterial, omnipresent, but so out of reach.

If he could just grab a fragment, and the tiniest amount of silver…

"Ack!" Jaune felt his body convulsed as he reached towards his soul. He started sweating profoundly and gritted his teeth as he clawed at his soul. "Almost… Augh!"

His body snapped back, but Jaune still kept his hand firmly on the android as a silver of his soul ripped itself from him and slipped into the android. Jaune fell back and panted as he watched the lights on his android starting to flicker.

The mask-visor and body markings flickered from red, brown, green, then white. The lights constantly switched between those four colors, increasing in its frequency with each passing moment. The mechanical body started twitching violently causing Jaune to back away.

"U-uh oh…"

He was starting to regret this. What was he thinking? Is it going to explode?

His self-doubts and questionings ceased when the android's light stopped flickering on green. The violent twitching was replaced with uncoordinated, but subtle movement. Its head surveyed its surroundings while lying flat on its back.

When it laid 'eyes' on Jaune, the android paused and stared at him. Jaune stared back, blinking stupidly before slowly getting up. The android kept its gaze as Jaune slowly walked towards it.

"C-can… You understand me?" He stammered, unsure of how he should approach this. Will it act like a newborn? Will it be knowledgeable? Will it be hostile?

'No.' Jaune shook the third assumption out of his mind. For now, he'll have to approach this in… Some manner.

He raised his hand and slowly reached out towards the android. It simply stared at him while he laid his hand on its torso just on top of the glowing Arc symbol. Jaune closed his eyes and inspects the android.

He could feel a familiar aura swirling inside the android, slowly growing with each second. But that's not what stuck out to him. What caught his attention was the tiny soul that was now resting inside the core of his android.

"C-c-c-caaaaan… Y-you…" The android's mechanical voice slurred and stammered causing Jaune to snap back from his soul searching.

"Uh… Can you understand me?" Jaune said slowly. "Yes, if you can understand me. No… Uh, I think if it's a no, then it will be explanatory enough…"

The android paused for a moment as if it was considering Jaune's word. Just when Jaune though that it didn't understand him, the android responded. "Y-y-yes. Caaaan… Understand…"

Jaune gasped with excitement upon hearing the android's response.

"Yes! I am a genius!" He was about to laugh until he realized that it was nighttime. "Uh, we gotta keep quiet for the night."

The android mumbled something about executable files while slowly sitting up. "Keep quiet? Keep quiet. Keep…"

Jaune smiled and placed a finger over his lips. "Yes, we must keep quiet. My parents and sisters won't be happy if I wake them up in the middle of the night."

"Yes." Said the android as it inspects its hands, clenching and unclenching them. It then mimics Jaune's stance by placing a finger over its mask-visor.

"Hm… Since you now have a soul, you're technically a living being. You need a name."

"Name?" The android questioned by tilting its head.

"Yup! Let's see… You're no longer glowing red, but green… What's a good name that goes with green? Um… Emerald?

Somewhere in Remnant…

"Achoo!" A girl with green hair sneezed.

"Emerald! Do not sneeze near me!" A young lady with black hair and yellow eyes berated her. The girl named Emerald shrank and bowed her head to apologizes.

"S-sorry ma'am! It won't happen again!"

Back to Jaune…

"No, too basic. What about…" Jaune pulled up the dictionary with his scroll.

"Err… Verdant? Maybe some adjustment to that? Verden… Oh? Hey! Verdell is a name. Let's see… Uncommon name, blah, blah, ah green and growing. That works. Your name is Verdell from now on. Well, you can change your name later if you like."

"Verdell…" The android repeated its new name with curiosity. "I am Verdell?"

"That you are, that you are. Come Verdell, you have a lot to learn!"

* * *

"Morning darling."

"Morning dear."

Jaune's parent was up and about in the morning as they prepare for another long day of handling their children. It was unfortunate that their eldest daughter will be leaving soon. Without the older siblings keeping an eye on their younger siblings, the burden would fall onto them.

Saphron Cotta-Arc, one of their oldest is in Mistral and others were studying or away from home. This left only their eldest sibling who was here to visit them for the week.

"Ready to survive a day without our eldest children supervising our younger ones?" Jaune's mother asked her husband as she opened the fridge.

"No." He replied bluntly.

There was a huge difference between fighting Grimm and watching over their kids. That difference being their kids are much more destructive and unpredictable if no one was keeping an eye on them.

The only exception is Jaune, which is a huge blessing to the Arc family.

"Dad! Mom!" Jaune exclaimed as he burst into the kitchen. "Look what I made!"

On cue, Verdell cautiously walked into the kitchen, taking in of the surroundings. The android paused when its gaze fell on Jaune's parent.

"Greetings, I am Verdell." The android greeted.

Jaune's parent looked slightly surprised at the android's coloration, not the greeting statement. They were already familiar with the voice synthesizer that Jaune often inputted into his robots.

Also, what did he mean by 'look what I made'?

Jaune had already shown them the robot he made yesterday, so what did he exactly mean? Is it how the android turned from red to green?

"Hi, Verdell." Jaune's father said automatically. He dealt with his daughters asking him to kiss their dolls goodnight, and compare to that… This was much more tamed.

"A pleasure to meet you."

"Verdell, can you shake hands with my father?"

"Yes."

Jaune's father had an amused look as Verdell raised an arm for a handshake. He shook the android's arm while glancing at Jaune.

"I take it, son. You spent all night programming… This?!" He recoiled when he felt the aura emitting from the android.

"Tada! Surprised that Verdell has a soul now?" Jaune proclaimed proudly, while his father had a somewhat haunted look and his mother, confused.

So much for Jaune being the exception…

* * *

"So… Let me get this straight." Jaune's eldest sister said as she paced around the kitchen floor, keeping her eyes on Verdell who has taken interest in the tablecloth design. "Jaune technically, in a sense, gave birth to Verdell and-"

"No, I chipped a part of my soul into a mechanical construct, which grew and developed into Verdell." Jaune said, trying to correct his sister.

"Did you feel discomfort, pain, and tiredness during and after that process?" She asked, taking note of his haggard appearance.

"Uh… Yes?"

"Exactly my point."

Jaune's mother wrapped her arms around Jaune while petting his hair. She was slightly distraught about the process where Jaune had literally clawed a small chunk of his soul just to entertain the idea of a robot having a soul.

"Oh, Jaune. My baby boy, why did you do such a dangerous thing?"

"I believe this emotional display is called… Distress?" Verdell curiously asked as the android watched his creator/father squirming under his mother's arms.

"Yes, Verdell. It is distress. And mom… Sorry, I was curious."

Jaune withered even more under the sterned and concerned glare of his father but was thankfully saved by his sister when she placed a hand on their father's shoulder.

"Okay, okay. So, Jaune went down the path of a mad scientist…"

"Hey. I wasn't going mad, I was curious!" Jaune protested.

"Curiosity kills the cat, Jaune." His father growled while rubbing his forehead with one hand. "I don't even know what to make of this situation."

How does one react to this sort of scenario?

"I believe that the first sentence was a proverb."

"It is, Verdell. It is." Jaune's father sighed. "I'm going to call your uncle; he might know someone who can make sense of all of this." He took out his scroll and started dialing.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

"Well, I wouldn't really say you're in trouble." His mother started, but his sister thought otherwise.

"Think of it like this, Jaune. You didn't use protection, and now we have another nephew or niece…? Uh, another unplanned family member to take care of. Because of your reckless behavior. Yeah, let's go with that."

"… When your sister put it like that."

"What?!" Jaune yelped, but before he could continue his protest. Their uncle answered the call.

Jaune's uncle appeared on the other end with a neutral expression. When he saw that it was his little brother calling him, he dropped it with a yawn. "Hey, little bud. what's with the early call?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. Listen, this may sound crazy to you, but…" Jaune's father explained the whole scenario. At least, the best he can.

When he was done, Jaune's uncle had a blank look on his expression. There was a moment of silence before his uncle let out a sigh, scratching his head.

"Are you sure that Jaune didn't unlock a hamster's aura, had it power his robot with a hamster wheel, and then trick you into thinking that the robot itself is emitting aura?"

"Yes." Everyone in the room, minus Jaune and Verdell, said with an amused expression.

"I see. I see." Jaune's uncle went quiet before continuing. "Well, this is certainly not something one would see in their lifetime…"

"So… What should we do? I think Jaune just opened a can of Grimm and we're about to be on the receiving end of that explosion."

"Let me contact Dr. Polendina. He's the scientists that have been doing research on aura and robotics. In fact, I believe he said something about research with very similar details regarding souls and robots. Though, that one was more geared towards artificial intelligence…"

"Wait, really?" Jaune perked up when he heard the mentioning of such research. He was slightly interested in the aura research, but most importantly, it would be a huge boon in understanding Verdell.

His parents and uncle stared Jaune down before returning to their conversation.

"Right… As intriguing Dr. Polendina might find this to be. It may take a while before he can come from Atlas to take a look, not unless you want to visit him in Atlas. Dr. Polendina is a busy man."

"We can wait." Jaune's father said, not willing to go to a cold and horrid place like Atlas. "In the meantime, we'll just have an extra person to watch over…"

* * *

Jaune's father growled as two figures emerged from the Atlesian airship. His particular spite was directed at a large man donning a white coat with black hair and sharp eyes.

"James." He snarled at the large man.

James Ironwood. General of Atlas Military and Headmaster of Atlas Academy, winced a bit as the older blond man glared at him.

"It's been a while-"

"You. Will. Address me. As Mr. Arc." Jaune's father said coldly.

Ironwood sighed but complied. "It's been a while, Mr. Arc."

"It is, for good reasons."

"Are we going to stand here and trade snide remarks at each other, or are we going to meet the boy?" An older man with white, balding hair scoffed as he walked past both men. "In truth, I am a bit skeptical of this. Let's make haste now before I grow impatient!"

"Of course, Dr. Polendina. Mr. Arc, if you would lead the way."

"Follow me." Jaune's father sighed as they walked towards the backyard.

Jaune was doing an analysis of an old Vytal Festival tournament clip with Verdell watching and listening intently as Jaune circled parts of the clip. The two were situated underneath the tree's shade on a wooden bench, enjoying their time together after training.

It was somewhat of a father and son bonding moment. Only the father is a teenage boy and the son is a 5'7-foot android that looks like it could rip a Beowolf in half.

"At here, their leader should have kept his distance and engaged from afar…"

"Because he was outnumbered 2-to-1 and his opponents excel in close-quarter combat?" Said Verdell. The knight-like android shifted its body weight to lean in closer for a better view.

"That is correct. He should have retreated and waited for his teammates to regroup. At least, that's what I think is the best choice of action… It's a lot more difficult to do things in the heat of battle."

Ironwood and Jaune's father mentally nodded in agreement with his last statement, while Dr. Polendina was already homing in on the android.

"Fascinating." Dr. Polendina said as he circles around the bench, inspecting Verdell.

Dr. Polendina and Ironwood had already seen photos of Jaune's android creation named Verdell, but upon seeing the android in person; Dr. Polendina was extremely impressed.

"Oh? You must be… Dr. Polendina?" Jaune said with a curious expression, if not slightly wary as the seemingly erratic man started to visual pick apart his android or… Son.

"That is correct, young man. And this marvelous construct… You created this from the advanced kit? The outdated ones?"

"Uh, yes. This is Verdell, and uh… I did receive some help from Sheen, the town's weaponsmith, but he mostly helped me in learning how to craft parts to weld on. Oh, and he allowed me to use scrap metals for construction."

"Fascinating! Intriguing, you must tell me more later!" The doctor/scientists exclaimed and muttered a lot of nonsensical things as he resumed inspecting the android.

Verdell 'looked' disturbed as he tried to keep track of the strange old man called Dr. Polendina. Jaune patted his shoulder to assure 'it', or 'him', that Dr. Polendina will not cause Verdell any harm.

Yes, him. Due to Verdell being a masculine name, the android decided to make things easier by addressing itself as him.

Anyway, Jaune's attention fell towards two more arriving figures. "Ah, dad and… General Ironwood I presume?" He greeted them as he stood up from his seat.

"A pleasure to meet you. You must be Jaune Arc." Ironwood said with a smile.

"I am. It's a pleasure to meet you as well, General Ironwood." Jaune said as he shook hands with the giant man.

His father rolled his eyes in the background, seemingly displeased with Jaune's politeness towards the Atlesian general. This was definitely odd as his parents always taught him to be polite to others.

Especially to important figures like General Ironwood.

"A wonder to behold!" Dr. Polendina shouted with excitement as he was running some sort of diagnosis through Verdell with his scroll. "Verdell was it?"

"Yes…?" The android answered cautiously. This strange man was starting too… What was the correct emotion? Scare him.

"Do you require substances in order to retain motor and mental function?"

"… Yes?"

"Interesting, interesting! Tell me, what are those substances?" Dr. Polendina bombarded Verdell with numerous questions causing him to reel back.

Luckily, Jaune was behind and stepped in to save Verdell from the torrent.

"Verdell requires a small amount of Dusts in order to remain functional. Any Dusts will do, but it seems that fire Dusts are more energy-efficient for him."

He continued to answer all of Dr. Polendina's questions in quick successions causing his father, Ironwood, and even Verdell to staggered in exhaustion. Though they weren't the ones answering the questions, it was extremely exhausting to hear them 'exchange notes.'

"Jaune!"

"Dr. Polendina!"

Jaune's father and Ironwood shouted at them to stop their relentless discussion.

"What?" Dr. Polendina snapped back before realizing where he was. "Ah, it seems that we've gotten gone off track there. My apologies."

"Sorry." Jaune echoes, looking sheepishly.

Ironwood rubbed his forehead, trying to simmer down the headache that was starting to form. "It's fine." He lied, "You will have the time to chat, but let's do that in a more appropriate and private place."

"We will not be meeting on your airship." Said Jaune's father. He was pretty certain that Ironwood's airship will be as cold as Atlas itself.

Ironwood glared at him and retorted. "I didn't say that we'll be meeting at my airship."

"Fine, you're welcome at my house." The older Arc grumbled as he led them into the dining room. "Shoes, off. I already have seven kids to take care of. I don't need any more chores to slowly kill me."

* * *

"… And with your son's aptitude on those subjects, I believe that under my watch, as my apprentice, Jaune will be a great asset towards those fields, contributing to technological advancement and aura research. Furthermore, I-"

"Dr. Polendina." Ironwood half whimpered, "We understand your stance on this, not to mention the possible contributions Jaune could make…"

"Yes." Jaune's father groaned in agreement with the general.

Never in his life would Jaune's father thought that he would be sitting and listening to another pointless lecture. As if one and a half-decades of schooling weren't enough.

Verdell laid slumped in his seat, dark-green lights dimmed on his mask-visor indicating that he was in sleep mode. It was quite the achievement of Dr. Polendina's end that he was able to make the android fall asleep. Normally, Verdell would be intent on learning.

"So, dad." Jaune said, excitement in his eyes. "Can I go to Atlas? Please? I want to work with Dr. Polendina and the rest of the scientific community."

Jaune's father silently thought of his only son going to Atlas. He hates Atlas, their society, their governing council, and the Schnee Dusts Company as well.

His son was a prodigy, no doubt about it. Jaune has his ambitions ranging from being a huntsman to a roboticist/scientist, and he was holding back his dreams. Jaune's father has his reasons; his decreased teammates, backhanded politics, and the apathetic populace, particularly in Atlas. Still…

While Jaune was waiting for a response, he nudged Verdell awake causing the android to jolt up, proclaiming that he is awake.

Jaune laughed at that blatant lie, while Dr. Polendina took interest of Verdell's sleep mode.

"Fascinating. This sleep mode, does it conserve your energy reserves? If so, how much? Are you aware of your surroundings during this sleep mode? What about the duration in which your consciousness begins to wane? Is it instantaneous, or is it gradual?"

"Dr. Polendina, please one question in a single breath." Ironwood groaned as he massaged his temple.

"I have the answers to your questions Dr. Polendina. Verdell's sleep mode does conserve energy, estimated around 89% of his reserves are conserved during sleep mode."

"Father, I can take it from here." Verdell interrupted, somewhat irked by Jaune babying him.

"Father?" Ironwood questioned, raising an eyebrow at Verdell's remark.

"It is natural to call my creator, Jaune, as my father." Verdell defended, "I was created from his soul. He is a part of me, and I am him, just like the standard biological reproductive process. In a philosophical sense… Is that the correct way to use 'philosophical' in a sentence?"

"Yes, at least. I think it is." Jaune said with a shrug, wrapping his arms around Verdell's shoulder, pulling him closer. "Dr. Polendina? What's your perspective on this?"

"Unfortunately, I am not well versed in linguistics despite writing and publishing numerous valuable paperwork. Those issues would be resolved during a committee's peer review. Tedious lots, those are."

"Jaune." His father said, catching the blond boy's attention.

Jaune's eyes locked onto his father's. "Yeah?"

"A word, if you please. We'll be right back, gentlemen."

Jaune nodded, got up from his seat and followed his father out of the room. They walked up to the stairs and made their way towards the master bedroom. When they entered the room, his father closed the door quietly behind him and turned to face Jaune.

"… I will be honest with you." His father started, "I do not want you to go to Atlas."

Jaune deflated from that; he was disappointed in his father's decision. Jaune was fifteen this year and his father was still treating him like a child.

"But," His father sighed while rubbing his neck. "I know that I've been treating you unfairly, and I want to say… I am sorry for my behavior. And I am proud of you."

Jaune's eyes widen and the excited look on his face started to return. "So, does this mean…?"

"Yes, you can go. Way to kill the mood son. Is that all you have to say?" His father half sighed and laugh as his son gave him the fiercest hug he could muster.

"Yup! Thank you so much! I'll make you prouder!"

"You're welcome, Jaune."

"I'll also make sure to give General Ironwood a hard time." He joked.

"You're my favorite child now." His father laughed.

* * *

"Bye, Jaune!"

"Take care, bro!"

"Bye-bye!"

Jaune's sisters waved goodbye to him as he pulled his luggage towards the large Atlesian airship. He had to constantly stop and hug each and every single one of his siblings before continuing.

"Jaune." His mother said as she hugged him tightly. "Good luck, my baby boy."

"Mooom…" Jaune groaned in embarrassment but returned her hug anyway. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too. I love you." She said as she pulled away with a proud face.

"I love you too, mom." He said and turned towards his father. "Bye, dad."

"Bye son. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will, dad. Love you."

"Love you too, son. Just… Be careful. Atlas has its own set of problems."

"Okay, okay. I will." Jaune laughed. He turned his attention back towards Verdell as his sisters also said their goodbyes to the android.

Even though they know Verdell for roughly a month, they treated him like family. Though some of his sisters treated Verdell like their little nephew.

It was a funny sight treating an intimidating 5'7-foot, knight-like android as a child.

"Good-bye. We may see each other soon." Verdell said as he staggered away from his sisters, looking somewhat haggard for an android. "Are all farewells this… Tiring, father?"

Jaune laughed, "Maybe in some families, but for the Arcs, it's always been like that. Oh, say good-bye to my parents."

"Yes, father. Good-bye grandfather, good-bye grandmother."

His parents grinned and gave Verdell a hug, which the android returned gently.

"Bye Verdell. Watch over Jaune will you?"

"Of course."

"Heh. Already an old man, eh Jaune?" His father chuckled as he patted Verdell on the back.

"I don't want to hear that from you, old man." He retorted as they headed towards the airship.

Verdell assisted Jaune in carrying two more luggage for him, one of which is a large case that contained tools for the android's maintenance and repairs; the other is their weapons case containing Règne and Révérer.

Verdell didn't have an official weapon yet. They'll have to make one when they reach Atlas.

Not to mention that Dr. Polendina promised him that he will have access to most of Atlas' latest tools and technology.

"Bye, everyone!" Jaune bid his final farewell as he boarded the airship with Verdell.

…

Jaune and Verdell entered the airship, taking their seats near the windows. The aircraft was large and spacious with a handful luxury service onboard.

How nice… This is a good time for Jaune and Verdell to bond and relax together.

"Time to relax, Verdell. It's going to be a while before we reach Atlas."

"Yes, father."

"This is going to be fun, aren't you excited?"

"That emotional concept is still foreign to me. I think…" He said hesitantly. Emotion has always been a fickle thing for Verdell.

"Don't worry about it, you got time in the world. So, what do you want to do while we wait for our flight to end?"

"… I would like to hear more of your combat analysis and commentary."

* * *

**Okay, so a certain part of this Concept Prologue was rushed. This was due to how old this concept was. Combined with old cliff's notes and snippets of the settings, it was somewhat hard to fill in the holes especially since it's been an eventful week.**

**While I listed this as "Concept", this is, in actuality the prologue that I will be using to build up the rest of this story.**

**Mary Sue. I've taken this into account of how Jaune can become a Mary Sue. I already have a scenario where his prototypes go berserk/rogue, so that's something I guess. I will have to explore this so that Jaune isn't too… Flawless. **

**Shipping. I currently don't have a particular ship/romantic route going for this. Maybe some ship teases similar to what I would be having for the 'Bounty Hunter Jaune' series.**

**I am sorry for any grammar mistakes. I am trying out several services to mitigate that particular issue.**


	3. Chapter 1

**WARNING! This story version of Jaune tends to leave a wall of text! The story itself as well. **

**ALSO! Robots coming soon. Bare with me for now.**

**I have roughly twenty long pages of story outlines that I had to go over since this story is actually five or four years old. **

**Piecing them together is a headache at times, I swear.**

**Sorry about the grammar, working on it.**

**EDIT: Amity Colosseum replaced Vytal Arena, that was a placeholder...**

**EDIT: Adjusted Penny's quotes about her means of obtaining a soul to make it vague for the time being.**

**EDIT: Readjusted Penny's introduction quote regarding her aura to keep up with the recent RWBY episode. Called it!**

* * *

**Chapter 1:**

Professor Glynda Goodwitch stood at the airship dock as a large Atlesian airship landed. The doors slowly opened revealing a figure with blond hair in a white coat. Behind him stood three figures.

A girl with orange hair and green eyes, and two androids that looked like heavily modified versions of an Atlesian Knight-130.

"Mr. Arc, I presume?" Glynda asked as the blonde stepped out of the airship.

"I am. Thank you for having me." Jaune replied, taking in the beautiful view of the campus. "So, this is Beacon Academy… A nice change of scenery for once. Oh! Where are my manners? Jaune Arc, at your service." He said with a short bow.

"Glynda Goodwitch. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. I know we're a bit late but allow me to quickly introduce to you my friend, and… Children, so to speak. This is Verdell Arc."

The large android with green highlight raised a hand and waved, "My greetings."

"Ciana Arc."

Another android with blue highlight gave Glynda a short nod, "Hello there."

"And Penny Polendina."

The girl with orange hair and green eyes saluted with enthusiasm, "Salutations! My name is Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"A pleasure to meet you all." Glynda politely nodded, "The headmaster would like to meet with you four. Please, follow me."

They followed the stern-looking woman into the academy and down a series of hallways. Along the way, Jaune and Glynda conversed about one of his field of research, particular about semblances.

"… In short, it's been theorized that a semblance is cultivated from an important moment of their life. It could be a moment of distress or something that is of significance to the individual at any point of their life.

For example, Verdell semblance allows him to soften physical attacks and was unlocked when he was foolishly fighting against the largest Beringel ever recorded." Jaune glanced back at Verdell, who lowered his head in shame.

"Father will never let you live that one down." Ciana 'snickered'.

"Hit the showers, Ciana." Verdell shot back.

"And then there's my semblance, which allows me to amplify auras and semblances. Well, it does go a little bit further than that. I can restore aura at the cost of mine, so I can be a medic of sorts. Anyway, I unlocked my semblance from learning how to control my aura, but Dr. Polendina and I believe that the reason I gained this specific semblance is due to the procedure in granting Ciana and Verdell their souls. Uh… Did Headmaster Ozpin tell you about the procedure? Or General Ironwood?"

"I was made well aware of it from the report Ironwood has provided us." Glynda flatly said, "I must also ask you not to perform those same procedures here."

A soul is considered sacred. A life force that runs through every living creature on Remnant and is extremely crucial in playing a role in combating the Creatures of Grimm. Therefore, Glynda was slightly horrified that Jaune would mutilate his own soul just to satisfy his own curiosity. Of course, she was well aware that there was more to Jaune and his research, but that was her initial reaction.

"Ah, yeah… I already promise that I wouldn't tear a piece of my soul out again. Too dangerous."

"I see. Forgive me for sounding too stern."

"No! It's fine. I know everyone is concerned about my wellbeing, so uh, yeah. That's the semblance theory that's been widely supported so far."

"Hm. Going back to that theory, I could see how it has gained a lot of support. I too, find it quite applicable to myself, as well."

"Oh? If you don't mind, could you go into further details?"

"Perhaps at a later date." She said as they stepped into the elevator. "It will be a long story."

/-/

"Ah, Jaune Arc. Welcome to Beacon Academy." Professor Ozpin or Headmaster Ozpin greeted Jaune as they stepped in the office. Glynda stood silently to the side, letting the headmaster have his spotlight.

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin." Jaune happily replied, "It's an honor to be working here… And studying as well."

Ozpin smiled as they shook hands. "The honor is mine. I am glad we finally get to meet in person." He then glanced at the three androids behind him. "I don't believe I am acquainted with the three of you. May I know your names?"

"Verdell Arc. Presumably, the first android to gain a soul and generate an aura. A pleasure to meet you."

"Ciana Arc. The second android to gain a soul. Nice to meet you."

"My name is Penny Polendina. The world's first synthetic person capable of generating an aura. It's a pleasure to meet you, Headmaster Ozpin."

"The pleasure is mine, welcome to Beacon Academy," Ozpin said, shaking all of their hands. "I believe you will be attending Beacon as a first-year student, is that correct Penny Polendina?"

"That is correct, sir." Penny said with a salute before making a downcast expression, "Is… That a problem?"

"No." Ozpin immediately said, "There is nothing wrong with your enrollment or presence here at Beacon academy. I understand that Mr. Arc here will be assisting us in making your experience comfortable and welcoming, but if you ever need anything or have concerns. Please, don't hesitate to ask us."

"Sensational!" Penny cheered, earning her a pat on the head from Jaune.

"Indeed. Now then, on to business Mr. Arc."

"Oh yeah, ah, I mean. Of course."

Ozpin took a seat behind his desk and pushed a sheet of pen and paper across to Jaune. It was a contract for his employment at Beacon. He would be working as the head of Beacon's new Technology Department.

It was a joint project to strengthen ties between Atlas and Vale. He would be mainly building the foundation to implement and/or upgrade new technology for Beacon. Atlas will be handling most of the installations, and anything outside of Beacon.

There were similar series of joint projects throughout the kingdoms, but Jaune was granted to individually lead this one due to how much of a handful he can be; all while allowing him to partially enjoy Beacon as Jaune is still an aspiring huntsman… Somewhat.

Jaune is still stuck between a 'scientist' and a huntsman, not that there was anything unusual with it. Dr. Oobleck for example is a historian and a huntsman.

"I must admit, Mr. Arc. I'm surprised that Atlas would allow a child prodigy such as yourself to break free from their... Control over their assets. Though I figured your father might have something to do with it as well." Ozpin casually said as Jaune finished filling out the contract.

"Eheheh… Well, I… Might have kinda overloaded Atlas's economic and political scene with some of my inventions. You know, patents to approve, safeguards to implement in case any of my inventions are used against the kingdoms, businesses trying to keep up or get a deal to start their productions, and so on."

Add in two years of Atlas having to resolve those overloads and you'll have an overworked bureaucracy that simply wants the problem gone. Especially the root of their said problem.

"So, I heard," Ozpin remembered a few times Ironwood looked haggard, far from his typical composed self, and mumbling about excessive paperwork because of a certain blonde.

"Yup… Uh, here you go." Jaune returned the pen and sheet of paper to Ozpin. "So, when do I start? Is there a specific area you want me to take a look at? Like the academy's system, or something? Maybe start working on the hard-light training simulator? My mobile lab is capable of producing and installing…"

"Father, you're rambling again." Verdell intervened before Jaune could lose himself to his mindscape.

Ozpin smiled, "I would recommend getting settle in first. Glynda will assist you in moving any packages should you need assistance. She will be showing you your office, laboratory, and living quarters that will hopefully suit your needs."

"Afterwards, I will give the four of you a tour of the campus and will answer any questions along the way," Glynda said, fixing her glasses and swiping at her scroll tablet. "As for where you should start Mr. Arc, there has been an issue with some of our displays recently. Our previous technology-related experts had been relocated elsewhere."

Glynda and Ozpin mentally cursed Haven Academy and by extension, Leonard Lionheart, for taking most of their skilled workers. Especially those that are well-versed in the technology field.

"Hm-hmm. That should be easy enough. Do you guys have any questions?" Jaune asked, turning to his three companions.

"Negative." Ciana and Verdell simultaneous said.

"I'm afraid I do not have any questions at this moment." Penny chirped, placing a finger on her chin.

"Very well. Allow me to show you your residence, as well as assist you in moving your luggage."

_/-Four days later-/_

"I must say, this is quite the time we are living in! How quickly our technology advances at such an incredible rate! It almost made me wish I studied in the field of technology instead!"

"I agree with Professor-"

"Doctor!"

"I agree with Doctor Oobleck." Glynda corrected herself, "This is truly remarkable." She said, eyes wide.

Solid light copies of Ursai, Beowolves, and Beringels materialized near the outer ring of the makeshift arena.

The light copies glowed Atlesian blue and were typically featureless and slightly low poly in appearance, but that doesn't affect their ability to fight as their programming dictates.

"Ho-ho! Indeed!" A portly man in a red suit, whom everyone refers to as Professor Port; shattered a group of light copy Grimms with his blunderbuss crossed battle axe weapon.

Shards of solid light shattered onto the floor, dissipating slightly before reforming into another set of Grimms. The generators above the arena also started to generate another batch of Grimms in order to increase the difficulty.

"Thank you, but credit for the creation of the Virtual Training Simulator should go to Dr. Polendina and his associates. I drew up three-fifths of the concept and helped create the combat modules for the hard-light bots to utilized. Also, we wouldn't have finished setting this up if it weren't for Professor Goodwitch's semblance."

Jaune, with the help of his androids and Glynda's semblance, was able to renovate the large and defunct storage room into a combat arena.

"You may call me Glynda when there are no students nearby." She said with a small smile, "Besides, you and your androids did most of the work."

"Did I hear that there are more ways these things can fight?!" Port shouted over the sound of synthetic snarling from the light copy Grimms.

"Yup!"

Jaune grinned and readjusted Port's opponents from Grimms to humanoid combatants. The light copy Grimms broke apart and reformed into a wide variety of fighters, some of which the staff recognized are participants from previous Vytal Festivals, despite being featureless in appearance.

Port chortled as he met them in combat, slightly struggling due to being outnumbered, but holding well on his own.

"Fascinating," Oobleck exclaimed, "but for such an impressive amount of hard copies to be made. I assume that it consumes a substantial amount of Dust!"

"You are correct on that, Dr. Oobleck. It took roughly twenty prototypes and the utilization of several Dusts efficient technology just to get to the current model. One of the methods we used to extend its performance is recycling the Dust that the bots used. However, the majority of that Dust is spent, so we could only salvage around 12 – 20% of the amount."

"That is certainly Dust efficient! But what about the generators above?" Oobleck gestured at the circular generators hanging overhead with thick metal wireframes. "I must imagine those are extremely costly to repair, especially in this sort of environment. Are there any safety measures to prevent such a thing?"

"There's a forcefield protecting those generators, similar to the one the Amity Colosseum uses. That further increases the cost and Dust. However, it is a necessary investment considering how destructive huntsman combat training can be…"

"Those words can never ring any truer." Glynda sagely nodded, "This training simulator certainly has a lot of uses."

Jaune nodded excitedly, "The possibilities are endless. I can change the color of the bots from Atlesian blue to orange, or green. I can implement scenarios where teams need to defend the VIP from an onslaught of enemies; adjust the difficulties of the enemies to make them tougher and faster; I can even…"

He went on a long ramble about the modifications the VTS could do along with its flaws, the people who had a hand in creating it, and so on until Glynda and even Oobleck couldn't stand it anymore.

"Jaune!" Both Oobleck and Glynda shouted as they clamped their hands on his shoulder, snapping Jaune out of his ramblings.

"Huh? Oh, was I rambling?" Jaune sheepishly said, rubbing the back of his neck. "So, uh… How long was I talking?"

"Roughly seven minutes and forty-eight seconds straight," Oobleck said drily.

"And it seems that Professor Port is finishing up with his last opponent." Glynda flatly stated as the portly man let out a coarse roar, burying his battle axe into the head of a large light copy figure wielding a rocket launcher.

"Training simulation has ended." The VTS mechanically said as the large copy dissipated into the air. "Dusts reserves at 41%. Please replenish Dust reserves to standard levels. Training simulation has ended. Dust reserves at…"

"Ah, I should really replenish the reserves," Jaune said as he lowered the volume of the VTS speaker. "Are you alright, Professor Port?"

The portly man was breathing heavily and tugging at his collar. "I'm fine! Huff… Just catching my breath. This is nothing! Huff…"

"Are you certain?" Oobleck called out, "You look like you're about to have a heart attack."

"I most certainly do not!" Port huffed, pushing his back straight and proudly marching off to the locker room.

"Will Professor Port be alright?" Jaune asked.

"He has been through worse before; I wouldn't be worried. I would be addressing the Dust reserves before the semester starts tomorrow."

"Ah, yes! The Dust reserves! I will get right to it. Oh yeah, what does the headmaster want with Penny, Verdell, and Ciana anyway?"

_/Ozpin's Office/_

"… And my father felt very bad about neglecting me. But I couldn't blame him because there were a lot of things he had to do. He was very passionate about making sure that the council, businesses, and scientific community didn't take advantage of or claim credit of Jaune's work. My uncle was also in the same situation as my father. Not soon after they decided to leave me under Jaune's care with an apology for their negligence. Though I still forgive them, they always apologize every time they contacted me."

Ciana and Verdell already told their stories, which wasn't exactly much. Now it was Penny's turn who was continuously rambling just like Jaune when he goes in-depth about stuff.

"I see. It sounds like they care about you greatly." Ozpin said with a small smile.

"Oh, they are very sweet to me! One time, my uncle purposely looked the other way when Jaune sneaked me out of the facilities for the annual festivals. He even let Ciana and Verdell tagged along with me!"

Ozpin couldn't help but chuckle at that.

General James Ironwood. The man committed to laws, regulations, and protocols; willingly looked the other way just for the sake of Penny's enjoyment. Not to mention allowing Jaune's 'children', who stands out the most, to attend such a public event.

Either James was softening up, or he was too tired to care.

"It seems that Jaune has greatly affected Atlas in many ways, not just in technology and economics."

"He certainly made a huge impression throughout Atlas within two years." Penny agreed, along with Ciana and Verdell.

"Indeed. Continuing with our conversion, Ms. Polendina. Would you… Oh?" Ozpin looked down on his desk that functions as a large scroll and holographic generator.

"Is something the matter?" Verdell asked.

"It appears that there is a Dust robbery underway in the city by Roman Torchwick. Glynda is currently in the city as we speak."

"Do you require our assistance?"

"I am combat ready!"

"That would not be necessary. Glynda can handle Torchwick without any issues. If you excuse me, I need to head down to the city as well."

Everyone emptied out of the office. Ozpin left for the docks, while the rests made their way to where they last saw Jaune; at the 'new' combat arena.

The hallways were emptied, and the skies were already dark.

"Roman Torchwick. Vale's notorious criminal. Indicated with grand larceny, burglary, robbery, assault, destruction of public and private properties, jaywalking…"

"Yes, Penny. We are very well aware of the individual named Roman Torchwick." Verdell said drily, earning him a punch from Ciana.

"Forgive my malfunctioning brother, Penny."

"Hit the showers."

"He's cranky when he strays from father for too long."

"I have legitimate concerns for his wellbeing." Verdell retorted, before backtracking a bit on his aggressiveness. "But I apologize for my behavior."

"I accept your apology." Penny said happily, "Verdell addressed a fair point. Jaune appears to be physically and socially isolated these past few days."

"Which is why we will 'encourage' him to interact with the influx of students in the following days. Or at the very least, prevent him from accessing his office and laboratory unless it is a crucial matter."

"Hmm… It is rather unhealthy for one to be physically and socially isolated from society." Penny said with a thoughtful expression, "I am willing to be of assistance."

"Then we are in an agreement, though I believe you will need to interact with your peers as they may potentially be first-year students like you; much less, your teammates," Ciana said to Penny.

"Oh, there you guys are!" Jaune exclaimed as they turned a corner. "So, how did the talk with the headmaster go?"

* * *

**This chapter could had gone better...**

**Truth be told, I was going to cut Ciana out of this story completely to limit the OCs presence in this story but... She has a snarky attitude that is totally from Jaune when he feels like a wisecrack.**

**And I can't help but love that.**

**PAIRINGS! I don't know, oof! Sorry.**

* * *

**SMALL SPOILER BELOW**** \- It's really not that much since the summary gives it away a bit.**

* * *

**Jaune will not be taking the initiation, but he is considered a 'part-time' student.**


	4. Chapter 2

**I am sorry for the late chapter!**

**There was supposed to be more in this one, but I have an exam in a few days. The quality might had dropped a bit...**

**I'll just add it to the next chapter, or something.**

**Pardon my grammar.**

**EDIT: Fixed several sentences.**

**EDIT: Fixed a word.**

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

"Come on, why won't you work properly?" Jaune whined as he took apart the miniature forcefield generator. "You worked on the other two, why not on Snow Angel?"

Snow Angel is the android laying flat on its back on an operating table. It had a sleek and slender appearance with four narrowed, winged-like appendages on its back. It was mainly white with Altesian blue markings decorating its body.

It was part of the ACE series, Adaptive Combat Endeavor, Advance Combat Efficient, or any mishmash of the two. Jaune wasn't able to decide what ACE exactly mean, so it was normally between those two. Overall, he just calls them ACE Units.

No ACE Units are the same. Each one was created with a unique look and niche in order to explore the capabilities that robotics can provide for humans and faunus.

Only two exists currently, with the third, Snow Angel, in the making. No, he wasn't going to grant it aura. He promised not to do that again and it would defeat the purpose of the ACE Units in the first place.

Combat androids without aura but possessing something that can potentially outclass aura in defense: Forcefields!

Forcefields were used in the Vytal Festive, protecting the audience from any stray attacks during the tournament. Needless to say, it requires a large amount of Dust in order to maintain it. Not to mention that the shape that encompassed the area is always basic geometry, like a sphere.

They can take huge bursts of damage without faltering or breaking, unlike aura. The downside is that in exchange for that 'impenetrable' defense, the consumption of Dust is high. There's also a lot of internal workings that are needed to generate a forcefield, making most generators large and not feasible to carry.

That's why Atlesian scientists have been working on creating miniature forcefield generators for the military and other industrial applications. Jaune didn't contribute much to the forcefield research effort, it was in the workings long before he arrived, but he did provide some structuring theorems regarding fiber muscles.

This also led to the creation of experimental body armors that uses forcefield generators to protect its wearer, but at its current stage; it was better to unlock one's aura then produce an expensive and Dust hungry body armor.

One of the results from that research is the forcefield generators that Jaune was currently using. Dr. Polendina and General Ironwood used their connections to fund the production of these generators with three given to him.

Those, in turn, were used to create the ACE Units, androids that are protected and strengthened by forcefields. In a nutshell, the ACE Units are utilizing something he liked to call: synthetic aura or pseudo aura.

Of course, there were plenty of issues that Jaune ran into those past two years.

First is the consumption of Dusts in maintaining a forcefield around the android. Constantly maintaining a forcefield consumes a lot of Dust. To resolve this, Jaune made the forcefield activate by sensors. This cuts down on the Dust usage but increased the sophistication of the programming for the sensors; what, when, and where should the forcefield be activated.

Second is the layout. How should he implement the generator within a robotic body? Extra Dust reserves had to be put in along with the sensors, motors, muscle fibers, and the possibility of movement restriction.

The third is the distribution of the forcefield. As stated earlier, a forcefield is normally generated with a basic geometric shape around the area, like a sphere. This causes all sorts of problems like when the forcefield is activated and it overlapped with the ground or wall. This is where the fiber muscle comes in handy.

Jaune, along with the help of Dr. Polendina's associates, they were able to turn the fiber muscles into fiber 'veins' so that the forcefield generators could flow throughout the body. Instead of encompassing the robot in a spherical shape, it will be encompassed according to the shape of the android's body; at least based on how the fiber veins were implemented.

This forcefield enchanted fiber muscle/vein can strengthen the android allowing it to be comparable in combat against hunters-in-training; similar to how huntsman and huntresses strengthen their body and weapons with aura. Though with the combat simulations Jaune ran, at best; the ACE Units combat performance wavers around your average third-year student. Maybe above average.

Lastly, are the weapons. A hunter can easily decimate a weapon if it's not strengthened by aura. Since forcefields can't flow over and strengthen a weapon without assistance, all ACE Units weaponry and armaments had to be built with fiber veins within them.

And that's just a light dip into some of the difficulties Jaune had with making the ACE Units.

"I don't see anything wrong with you…"

Jaune put back the forcefield generator and pushed it to the side. He focused his attention on the android laying in front of him. With a PDA meter reader, he prodded the fiber muscles and Dust reserves of the android, searching for the reason why the forcefield generator consumed 45% of the android's Dust; per second.

It didn't appear that the issue isn't with the generator since there was barely any difference in consumption when used on the other two ACE Units. It was concluded that it was the build that's causing the issue, but what and where is that issue stemming from?

"You're as difficult as Winter." He compared the similarity of difficulty working with the Specialist to his creation.

In fact, Snow Angel was modeled after Winter Schnee herself, though its first name was Ice Witch which resulted in Winter throttling him for the second time.

"Is it the wings?" Jaune asked himself, inspecting the four-winged like appendages on its back.

They were made for increased mobility and unpredictability, allowing Snow Angel to make quick and sudden changes in its movement that would often be unpleasant for a person.

Snow Angel was designed to be a swift all-round fighter, capable of fighting in nearly every situation.

Its only downside is its strength, durability, and possibly endurance. The last one is just an assumption since he hasn't been able to get Snow Angel to function without it powering down in three seconds.

"A leakage somewhere?" He picked at a fiber muscle, then at the veins with a large tweezer. "My structure reader, please." Jaune commanded one of his 'Arc Knights', knight-like combat androids with color schemes of white and yellow.

One of them walked out of its pod and made a beeline towards his desk and picked up a small case. It walked towards the operating table, handing it over to Jaune.

"Thank you, return to your station." He thanked the android, though they probably don't acknowledge his gratitude since it wasn't in there programming.

"Acknowledged." It said with a flat, mechanical voice as it returned to its pod.

"Now then, let's see if I missed a spot-check." The scanner emitted a thin, red line as it scanned through the entire inner workings. Nothing. "No such luck." Jaune sighed, realizing that he'll have to take apart the interior and reevaluate their performance.

He pulled out his tool kit and started dismantling the inner workings of Snow Angel.

Time flew by quickly as Jaune intensively focused on his work. As noted by everyone, Jaune is very passionate about his work and cares for his craft. All of his creations had this 'life' to them that couldn't really be explained or replicated.

In roughly fifteen minutes, participants across the kingdoms will arrive at Beacon Academy to start their initiation in order to become students at Beacon.

The laboratory doors opened revealing Verdell, who proceeded to walk to his creator/father's side and let his shadow loomed over him.

"Verdell, can I help you?" Jaune asked, not looking up.

"Yes, please take a break from your work. The participants are already here at Beacon and Penny will be interacting with them to improve on her social skills. Or at the very least, try to… 'mingle' with them."

"I thought they won't be here for another half an hour."

"There are some taking early flights or other sorts of personal transportation."

"Uh-huh… Ten more minutes."

"Are you neglecting Penny?" This caused Jaune to pause before standing up from his chair.

"… You're right. Shoot. Sorry about that. Help me put Snow Angel back into the container."

They carefully set the ACE Unit back into a large metallic coffin, with the internal parts being stored away in another compartment. Once they put away the ACE Unit, the container snapped shut with a series of clicking, securing Snow Angel from any unwanted intrusion.

"Ciana is currently monitoring Penny, though it has drawn some attention for obvious reasons."

"Hm, you guys do stand out. Want me to give you guys a makeover? Something to blend in among the human and faunus population?" Jaune teased.

"I am not interested."

Jaune grinned as he took up his weapon, Règne, and Révérer; imitations of Crocea Mors with some modifications.

"Okay, let's go." As they were leaving, Jaune inputted the command for a full lockdown of the lab, arming his sensors and Arc Knights. "Wonder what the girls are up to."

"Knowing Ciana, she'll be either keeping Penny on a leash, or she'll be encouraging her to be outgoing."

/-/

"It's simple Penny, you walk up to someone and introduce yourself."

"But wouldn't it be strange to do so?" Penny asked, putting a finger to her chin and tilting her head a bit. "I would need a reason to perform an act of-"

"Penny, you do not need to sound like Winter, nor any of the high-class manner of speaking."

"But-"

"People have the tendency to find those with that sort of social dialect… Snotty. Like Winter. And sometimes Verdell." Taking a potshot at her elder sibling, though she did feel that he was saying something negative about her behind her back.

Penny thought about this for a moment before nodding, "I suppose it does have some negative connotation. Very well! I shall conform to a more common social dialect!"

"Well, this is a decent start. I suppose." Ciana 'sighed', "What's taking them so long?" Referring to her father and Verdell.

"There was a shipment of important materials early in the morning." Penny pointed out.

"I know, but the essentials had already been implemented. Father is most likely working on that ACE Unit, what was it? Ice Witch?"

"Snow Angel, the previous name was discarded due to unfavorable reaction from Specialist Winter Schnee." Penny corrected her.

"Unfavorable is an understatement…" Remembering how Winter was throttling her father, which they found it humorous considering how tactless Jaune could be at times.

"It appears that the participants have arrived," Penny noted as several large airships started docking outside. "I believe this is my time to shine?" Feeling somewhat nervous.

"Ciana, Penny!" A familiar voiced called out from behind them.

"Jaune!" Penny exclaimed and tackled him, not having seen him since this morning.

"Oof! Hey Penny." Jaune greeted, managing to not fall from the impact. "Sorry about that, got caught up in my work."

"No worries, we were just about to go onto the main avenue."

Ciana stood closer to Verdell and asked, "What took you so long?"

"Professor Port," Verdell replied flatly.

"Ah." Not needing an explanation.

"Time for your big debut at Beacon, Penny."

"Yes, sir!" Penny saluted, "I am ready!"

"Something tells me that this won't go well…" Ciana grumbled as they made their way towards the main avenue.

By the time they got there, hundreds of students were out and about, making their way towards Beacon Academy. A good portion of them stared at the odd team consisted of Jaune, Penny, Ciana, and Verdell.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Ciana."

"Says the one who overreacted, father."

He looked aghast, "Me? Overreact? When?"

"The magnet incident." The robotic trio droned.

"Hey, I had a legitimate concern about that." Remembering 'that' infamous incident with the crane magnet. Now he knew how his parents felt when anyone of he or anyone of his siblings gets hurt.

It was somewhat of a difficult issue to resolve.

There is no such thing as a magnetic insulator, so the best way Jaune and Dr. Polendina could 'nullify' those magnetic flux lines is to re-route it. This means lining Ciana, Penny, and Verdell's internal workings with special wires in order to prevent another similar incident. Of course, that took a while and the constant testing and lining for their weapons also extended that their time in 'confinement'.

Even Penny, of all people, pouted about it.

On the bright side, they now have the ability to manipulate magnetics due to the rerouting aspect that was introduced to their frames. Anybody that is foolish enough to use any sort of magnetism on the trio will find it being used against them. Of course, the strength of that magnetic manipulation is proportional to the amount exerted on them.

"I believe that the response could have been handled… Better." Penny replied with a cautious expression.

"Okay, it could have been handled better. But at least you guys got something out of it."

"At a cost."

"Worth the cost." He shot back and let the matter drop.

As they walked further out onto the main avenue, Penny wanderlust got the best of her.

"Where shall I start?" Penny wondered out loud as she took the initiative; skipping ahead of her companions. "Oh, how about those two?" She spotted two girls, one with white hair; the other black with red tips and red cloak.

The girl with white hair seems awfully familiar…

"Think she'll be okay?" Ciana asked as she watched Penny skipping towards Red and White, not bothering to keep up. After all, she and Verdell stood out a lot.

"She should be."

"Looks like there's a conflict between those two." Jaune noted, "Hang on is that…?"

Penny reached her destination and started to greet the two girls, "Hello there, my name is-"

"Uhhhhaaaahhh-Choooo!" The girl with the red cloak sneezed.

FOOOWM!

A small area was engulfed in an explosion with Penny and the white-haired girl taking the brunt of it.

One of the Dust bottles flew and rolled towards a girl with black hair and bow, who was currently reading a book. She picked up the bottle and inspected the Schnee Dust Company logo with no particular interest before shifting her eyes towards the commotion.

"Unbelievable!" Shouted the white-haired girl, "This is exactly the king of thing I was talking about!" She stomped her foot, causing the soot from her person to evaporate.

Penny was also covered in gray soot, though she didn't seem to notice it. "It appears that the sudden involuntary expulsion of air from the nose and mouth due to irritation of one's nostrils has resulted in that explosion." She explained.

"You think?!" The white-haired girl hissed, turning towards her. She paused and inspected Penny's soot-covered appearance before handing her a pamphlet. "The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Though you can blame it on her!" She viciously pointed her finger at the girl with the red cloak.

"I'm really, really sorry!" The girl apologized.

"Ugh! You complete, dolt! What are you even doing here?!"

"I am here to attend Beacon Academy!" Penny innocently replied, "We should de-escalate this situation. It is unwise to antagonistic towards one another during the initiations."

"I know that!" The white-haired girl snapped at Penny, "I'm asking about her!" She pointed at the girl in red, "Aren't you a little too young to be attending Beacon?"

"Well… I…"

"My name is Penny! What is yours?" She cut in, shaking off the soot covering her.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"M-my name is Ruby."

"Sensational!" Penny exclaimed and turned towards the white-haired girl, "What is your name?"

The white-haired girl looked offended, "Do you know who I am?"

Before Penny could respond, the girl with black hair answered, "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

"Finally, some recognition." Weiss huffed.

But the black-haired girl wasn't finished, "The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners."

"What?! How dare…!" She sputtered.

Ruby giggled while Penny had an uncanny smile on her face the entire time.

"If I may interject for a moment." Penny started but was ignored.

"The nerve of…!" Weiss stormed up in front of the black-haired girl and glared before snatching back her bottle of Dust. "At least we're fixing that." She grumbled under her breath as the heiress stormed off.

Penny looked crestfallen, "This was not the outcome I had hope." She said sadly.

"Me too, me too." Ruby agreed before calling out to Weiss one last time, "I promise I'll make this up to you!"

"Don't worry Ruby. I'm sure she will forgive you!"

"Thanks. I'm not having a great day right now…"

"My name is Penny, what's yours?" Penny asked the black-haired girl, who responded by turning away and walking off. "That is unfortunate."

"Well, I guess that blew up in your face." Jaune joked as he came over.

"It would appear so!" Penny said happily, not realizing that his statement was a pun.

"Whoa… Are those your robots?" Ruby said excitedly as she took notice of Ciana and Verdell. "Are those their weapons as well?! You even made them their own weapons?!" Blurs of red rose petals fell from her red cloak as she zipped around examining the two.

"Where are these petals coming from?" Jaune asked as he picked up a few.

"It's from my semblance," Ruby replied, taking a good look at the androids and their weapons. "A halberd that can shift into a rifle. A shotgun shield and spear with… Clamps? What can the spear do?"

"You'll see soon," Ciana said, surprising Ruby.

"Whoa! You can understand me?"

"Of course."

"This is Ciana, and this is Verdell, they are my friends!" Penny introduced the two knight-like androids, "Think of them as Jaune's children. He's their creator."

Ruby's eyes sparkled, "So cool! Wait, are you Jaune?" She asked the blond boy.

"Yup." He dropped the rose petals and bowed, "Jaune Arc, Head of Beacon's Technology Department."

"W-wait! You're not a student?"

"Well, I can be considered a part-time student. I can attend classes, but I won't be bogged down by assignments and projects unless I want to do them."

"No fair!" Ruby complained at the fact that he is immune from the coursework. "That's so unfair!"

"Really? Can you make robots or electronic devices?"

"Uh, no…"

"What about writing programs or research papers?"

"Nope, okay. Point taken." She conceded, "So… I got this thing." Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose as it expanded into its full form.

"Whoa, I was not expecting someone like you to wield something that large!" Eyes slightly wide, "Though, that's not the strangest thing I saw. Nice scythe."

"It's also a customizable, high impact velocity sniper rifle."

"It's also a gun." Jaune duly noted.

"Yup! So, what do you guys have?"

Jaune pulled out his sword and his shield. "Règne and Révérer, imitations of my family's heirloom Crocea Mors. With some additional functions, but that's about it. The classics weapons are my favorite. Boring, but practical."

Several short swords floated in the air, "This my weapon! They don't have a name yet, but I can change formations to maximize my combat capabilities." Penny explained as she made various shapes with them. "I can also use them to fire lasers!" Three swords spun in a circular motion and fired a bright green beam up into the sky.

"No way! That's so cool! How does it work? What Dust is youusing?Wheredidyourweaponcomefrom?!"

"Whoa, Ruby. Slow down." Jaune quickly intervened, fearful that the crimson reaper might explode from excitement. "I think it's almost time for the ceremony, by the way."

"Oh my, it appears that Jaune is correct. The ceremony shall start soon."

Ruby looked panicked, "Oh no! Which way is to the ceremony?"

"Penny will show you the way, Professor Goodwitch has a task for me to do. Gotta go! Bye Penny, bye Ruby. See you two later." Jaune waved as he walked away.

Ciana and Verdell also said their goodbyes.

"Goodbye, Penny. We'll meet again, that's for certain."

"Indeed, my farewells to you."

"Bye, everyone!" Penny waved back, happily humming as she showed Ruby the way to the ceremony.

"I didn't know Verdell could talk," Ruby said with surprised.

"Oh, he doesn't talk much. At least, not when there are others around. But he's very sweet at times!"

"So… Where did you and Jaune come from?"

"Atlas, though Jaune comes from somewhere else originally."

"Cool… Um, going back to my question about your weapon… Sorry! I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons."

"No worries, Ruby! I still remember your questions earlier. My weapon uses…"

/-/

Penny and Ruby entered the amphitheater finding it already crowded with people.

"Ruby! Over here!" A blond girl shouted from the crowd, "I saved you a spot!" She said with a wave.

"Oh! Hey, I gotta go. I'll see you after the ceremony!" Ruby patted Penny on the arm and made her way towards the crowd.

"Goodbye, Ruby!" Penny waved goodbye.

"How's your first day going, little sister?" Yang, Ruby's older half-sister, nudged at her.

"You mean since you ditched me, and I exploded?!" Ruby said with her arms crossed.

"Yikes." Yang said pulling back a bit, "Meltdown already?"

"No, I literally exploded a hole in front of the school! There was fire, and I think some ice…"

Yang leaned in closer, "Are you being sarcastic?"

Ruby scoffed, "I wish! I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I exploded, and Penny exploded as well, she's not the crabby girl by the way. And then she, not Penny, yelled at me again…"

"You!" Weiss shouted from behind.

"Oh god, it's happening again!" Ruby cried out as she jumped onto Yang's arms.

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!"

"Oh my god, you really exploded," Yang said with an uneasy expression.

"Did somebody call my name?" Penny appeared in between them, causing Ruby to jump back onto Yang's arms while the rest jolted back.

"Penny?! Where did you come from?"

"I was roughly 7.9248 meters from your location, judging by the volume and direction of your voice."

"Okay… Who's this?" Yang asked, eyeing the orange hair girl.

"Excuse me, but I believe I have more pressing matters to say first." Weiss pulled out a pamphlet and handed it to Ruby.

Ruby looked at the pamphlet with confusion, "What's this?"

"That appears to be the Schnee Dust Company official pamphlet for Dust usage, along with legal liabilities and contact information."

"That's right," The heiress nodded, "And I expect you to read this completely. You already wasted my time."

"Uhh…" Was all Ruby could reply.

"You really want to start making things up to me?" She asked.

"Absolutely." Ruby responded, somewhat hesitantly.

"Read this and don't ever speak to me again."

Yang decided to cut in, 'Look, uh… It sounds like you two got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you just start over and try to be friends, okay?"

"Yeah! Great idea, sis!" Ruby's expression beamed, "You can be friends like me and Penny."

"What did you call me?" Penny asked Ruby.

"Uh, we are friends. Righ-Waaah?!"

"Sensational!" Penny exclaimed with joy as she hugged Ruby with all her might. "I made another friend! Oh, I cannot wait to tell father, Jaune, and uncle!"

"My back…" Ruby whimpered.

"Whoa, easy on the hugs, um… Penny." Yang said, looking concerned for her little sister's wellbeing. "You okay, Rubes?"

"…"

"Rubes?"

"…"

* * *

**RIP Ruby Rose**

**Pardon my grammar, there was supposed to be more with Jaune. **

**Combat scene in the next chapter!**

**Now if you excuse me, I have an exam to do...**


	5. Chapter 3

**EDIT: Found a lot of typos, forgot to review. Reposted chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

After briefly meeting her mother, Ruby woke up; finding herself in the ballroom along with Penny and Yang.

She blinked away the bright lights and asked, "W-what happened?"

Penny looked down with a sorrowful expression, while Yang smiled sheepishly.

"You passed out." Her older half-sister simply stated, "From a hug."

"I am so sorry!" Penny apologized, bowing her head in shame. "Please forgive me. I didn't know own strength!"

Ruby slowly got up. Her back slightly aching from the bearhug that Penny gave her. "It's okay Penny, Yang crushes me with her hugs as well. Sometimes..."

"I do not!"

Penny looked up, "R-really? You forgive me?" Leaning in on Ruby while making puppy eyes that rivals even hers.

"Yes?" Ruby meekly answered.

"Sensational!" Penny cheered as she pumped her fist in the air. "Oh, this will be so much fun!"

Yang leaned closer to Ruby, "Are you sure you didn't hit her on the head when you were showing off your weapon?"

"No," Ruby flatly said, "and that never happened to anyone before."

The orange-haired girl kept talking, "We can paint our nails, try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!"

Ruby cringed, somehow seeing a bit of herself in Penny. "Aw, is this what I'm like when I tried to socialize?"

Yang also shared her expression, "Not… Really. You're a lot less organized and you tend to stutter a lot."

"Oh…"

"So, Penny. Where are you from?" Yang asked, changing the subject.

"I'm from Atlas. I am here to experience the world beyond Atlas as well as participate in the tournament. Oh, and I will be fighting Grimms as well."

"Tournament, huh?" Yang mused, "You're talking about the Vytal Festival, right?"

Penny nodded, "That is correct."

"Ha!" Yang cracked her knuckles, "You won't make it past me, I ranked first in my combat school. What about you?"

"Yaaaang…" Ruby moaned, sensing her sister's competitive spirit flaring. "I'm sorry Penny, she's always like this."

"No worries, Ruby. Competition is common among hunters-in-training."

"Heck yeah!"

"To answer your question, Yang. I have gone through a total of eight hundred and sixty-seven combat simulations within the span of one year and 121 days."

Ruby and Yang blanked at her response, "Within… What kind of...? You're kidding right?" Yang asked incredulously.

"Is that why you're incredibly strong?" Ruby asked as she rubbed her back.

"I'm afraid that my statement was not a joke. As for…"

Professor Glynda entered the ballroom at that moment with an announcement, "May I have everybody's attention? Some of you may have noticed the disturbances that have been occurring in Emerald Forest. Rest assured, it is the result of our staff diminishing the amount of Grimms in the forest. Due to a sudden influx of Grimms, we have dispatched several of our staff and security forces to ensure that you will not encounter overwhelming odds during your initiation."

There was soft murmuring amongst the crowd.

"Wonder what could be so bad that the school has to step in." Yang wondered out loud.

Glynda continued, "If you're interested in observing their effort, the Head of our Technology Department has deployed several camera drones to collect data on their performance. You can access the feeds with your scroll or watch it from the displays in the cafeteria."

Ruby seemed to perk up at that. "Oh, oh! Let's go watch it at the cafeteria! I bet we can learn a whole lot about Grimms, and weapons!"

"I knew you would say that." Yang teased.

"Would you like for me to continue from our conversation?" Penny asked.

"Later!" Ruby shouted as she blurred into a flurry of rose petals, dashing into the hallway towards the cafeteria.

Shaking her head, Yang tugged at Penny's dress. "Come on, let's go see what Ruby will be squealing over."

"She is very enthusiastic when it comes to the subject of weaponry."

"No kidding."

/-/

Grimms fell on top of one another, falling prey to the concentrated fire from the military androids that stood several meters before them. The mass of snarling Grimms continued their assault on the position, undaunted by the heavy casualties.

Miniature versions of the prototype Spider Droids, designated as Audax Spider Droids, laid waste to the bulker Grimms with their quadruple rotatory cannon firing blue laser beams similar to Penny's.

Arc Knights, at least that's what Jaune currently calls them, operated on an altered Atlesian military doctrine; establish a defensive perimeter, devise maneuverability based on their position, and decimate the Grimms.

Verdell was pleased with the results. The data they are collecting is highly coveted by the military, analysts, scientists, and other professions that might benefit from the combat data.

However, he had another specific task to perform. Nodding at a particular android, Verdell gave it the go-ahead signal.

A bronze and gray looking robot with a rugged and bulky build, wielding a two-handed battle-ax and a buckler shield rushed out to meet the Grimms. With a powerful swing of its ax, several Grimms were sent flying into the forest; in two.

It continued to hack at the Grimms left and right, bashing an occasional Grimm with its buckler shield with impunity. Within seven steps, the Grimms were cut down to a manageable size.

"ACE Unit: Vis is performing exceptionally well," Verdell reported as he fired two rounds at a descending Griffon. It screeched as crashed into the ground, perishing as an Arc Knight finished it off with one of its blades. "My sector is experiencing a decreased in Grimm activity."

"Copy that." Jaune confirmed, "Ciana?"

"Sector is slowing being secured." She responded as she impaled an Ursa Major through the jaw with her spear and shifted into its… Cutter mode? Scissor mode? They didn't have a name for it. The blade of her spear unfastened into two, tearing the Major Ursa's head apart.

"Grimm activity is decreasing as well," Ciana responded as she allowed an Ursa Minor to charge into her opened spear cutter, blades digging into its throat.

**SNAP!**

The blades snapped shut, cleanly decapitating the Ursa.

"My end is clearing up as well. How is Seeker performing?" Jaune asked.

Ciana glanced behind her as Seeker shot down three Nevermores and two Griffons in quick succession with its large anti-material sniper rifle. Compacted bullets struck against the skull of the Grimms, detonating concentrated explosives; killing the Grimms instantly.

"Seeker is performing well, but I believe it would be better suited for close quarter combat."

The grayish ACE Unit, codenamed Seeker; has a solid build with the most defining features are the eyes. A total of six eyes occupied its head, giving it a superior complex visual system. It wields a large sniper rifle nicknamed the Goliath's Slayer. Jaune designed Seeker as a long-range combatant that is capable of handling powerful ranged weaponry but make no mistake, it is capable of close quarter combat.

Jaune mused on altering Seeker's primary combat module. "Hm, I suppose that the complex visual system is a bit wasted... I'll make the adjustment when we get back."

A blast from Professor Port's blunderbuss ax hybrid caught Jaune's attention as the portly man blasted an Ursa head off.

"So, this is what it feels like to lead an army!" Port cheerfully proclaimed, "Alas, military doctrine and regulations can't keep a dazzling man, such as myself, from reaching my full performance with their weak training! Why I remember telling an old military friend of mine- "

His ramblings were cut short as a large Alpha Beowolf came crashing through the forest; its claws tearing trees down like fragile branches.

Standing over fourteen feet tall, the large Alpha Beowolf let out a howl and swung its large arms, tearing two trees off their roots and launching it at them.

"That's a big Beowolf!" Jaune exclaimed as he jumped into the air, slicing the trees into pieces. "Ciana, Verdell, I think we found their leader. A very large Alpha Beowolf." He ignored the chatter and prepared himself to engage the large Grimm.

Port, on the other hand, wasn't impressed. "I've seen bigger Beowolves than this one." He snorted, "Though I do wonder how a Grimm this large managed to go undetected for so long."

"Don't know," Jaune replied as he commanded two Audax Spider Droids and six Arc Knights to focus on the flying Grimms overhead. "but I got this one!"

He dashed towards a giant Alpha Beowolf, slicing his way through the lesser Grimms with ease. Silver arcs decorated the Grimms as Jaune danced through the hordes, never slowing his movement till he reached the Alpha Beowolf.

"Have at them!" Port cheered as he cleaved in the skull of a Nevermore.

The large Grimm roared and ripped a nearby tree in half, throwing it at Jaune, who promptly split it in two and continued his onslaught. He stopped a few meters away from the giant alpha and readied his attack.

"It's been a while since I fought against a Grimm this size." He said as he collapsed Révérer into sheath form and sheathed Règne, his sword. "Let's see if my aura manipulation is getting rusty." The sheath clicked and secured itself to Règne, turning it into a broadsword.

With a fierce cry, Jaune charged towards the Alpha Beowolf, his sword glowing as he channeled his aura into the blade.

The Alpha Beowolf snarled in response and lunged at him, jaws wide and claws outreached.

The two met midair. Jaune's blade streaked twice against the large Grimm while its claws and jaw found nothing, landing face-first into the hard ground.

He landed and detached his weapon and shifted Révérer into its shield form; preparing himself should his attack fail. The alpha howled in pain and quickly got up to viciously lunged at Jaune once more.

Jaune held his shield out, bracing for the impact that never came.

The alpha went rigged as white cracks webbed out from its wounds, spreading across its arms and torso. It stood there paralyzed as the aura that was embedded into the Grimm from Jaune's attack tried to escape from the alpha's body, causing it to bloat. Light shined through the alpha's massive body as it inflated before finally exploding in a flash of light.

Spines and bone-like coverings peppered the forest, impaling the remaining Grimms that were unfortunate enough to be near the explosion.

Jaune took cover behind his shield letting the projectiles strike against his shield. The barrage ended quickly, and he lowered his guard as he surveyed his surroundings. There weren't that many Grimms left. It was best if they finish up before the sun goes down, all while keeping a modest amount of Grimms for the initiation.

He made his way back to his original position and was met with Port applauding him, "Brilliant! Spectacular I must say! A wonderful demonstration of aura manipulation! That'll show them what we're made out of!"

"Thank you Professor Port." Jaune accepted the man's compliment, "I think we should start wrapping things up. Best to leave some for the initiation tomorrow."

"Indeed." Port nodded, "We can't have all the fun, now can we?" He laughed as he slapped his hand on Jaune's back causing him to grimace. "It would be dull for them!"

"Not sure if it'll be dull for them…" Jaune mumbled before he started to bark out orders, "Combat restriction lifted! Hold position! Neutralize any Grimms on sight, we leave in two minutes! Man, I wished I took up Winter's lesson in military jargon, that would have sounded much cooler…"

"…ther, are you there?" Verdell's voice came through his earpiece.

"I'm here. Sorry about that, the alpha has been taken care of and I'm wrapping things up on my sector. What's up?"

"Ciana and I have cleared our sector and have regrouped. We are moving in on your position."

"Got it. Once we regroup let's head back to our carrier. Did you guys encounter anything unusual?"

"Negative." They both replied in unison.

Jaune grinned, "Well then. Let's call it a day."

/-/

"Did you see that?!" Ruby and another orange-haired girl named Nora exclaimed simultaneously.

"Hey, hey, Ren! Can you do that?" Nora asked excitedly to a boy with long black hair with a pink streak on the left. They had witnessed the blond boy obliterating the behemoth of an Alpha Beowolf with two strikes. "You know, that aura attack thing."

Ren had his eyes fixated on the screen, "I don't think I can do that, yet." He replied, mentally taking note of the scene. He has exceptional knowledge in aura manipulation, capable of infusing his attacks with aura, but not to the extent that the blondie in the screen displayed.

If possible once the initiation is over, he'll want to meet with the blond boy and ask him about it.

Meanwhile, Ruby was gushing about another scene.

"Did you see those spider thingies and their weapons?! It's like a laser minigun!" Ruby bounced from her seat, ignoring the occasional odd look from the students.

"Yes, Ruby." Yang groaned, trying to control her sister. "We were watching the same thing this entire time." Seeing that her sister is becoming more hyperactive, she wrapped an arm around her waist trying to keep her down. "Sis, calm down. I swear you're about to explode."

"I am calm! What are those?!" She pointed at the screen. "They're so cool! And the way they tore apart that horde of Ursa Majors with their weapons…!"

Penny chimed in, "Those are call Audax Spider Droids; Audax SD for short. They possess heavy and light weaponry designed for fighting Grimms. Created based on the prototype models of its larger predecessors, it is designed to be robust and highly mobile; capable of providing quick and powerful fire support."

"Cool!"

Yang nodded, impressed with the destructive power that the Audax possessed. Though probably not to the same extent that she is capable of, especially if someone or something touched her hair.

"Say, who is that blond boy anyway?" She finally asked, wondering why someone around their age was commanding a robotic army. "Also, what are those four androids?" She pointed at the two other large screens overhead. "They look and act completely different than the others."

"That's Jaune!" Penny responded happily, "He's the head of Beacon's Technology Department. He's also very sweet, intelligent, and the creator of all the androids you see there."

Yang sputtered, "H-hold up, he created all of those?!"

"All of them?" Ruby questioned excitedly, "He did say he makes robots and electronic devices."

Penny nodded, "Indeed, he has created so many wonderful things! The Virtual Training Simulator, fiber muscle combat suits, the Audax SD series, the ASG: Warhawk, oh I can list so many more! He even improved the combat modules and programming that all security and military androids used, improving their performance and minimizing the casualties of soldiers and civilians."

"Wow." Was all Yang could say.

"Wow, indeed!"

"So, what about those four androids?"

"Those two are from the ACE series," Penny explained, pointing at Vis and Seeker. "Adaptive Combat Endeavor or Advance Combat Efficient Units. Jaune is currently unable to choose a single designation for the ACE Units yet, but I'm sure he will choose one eventually. They possess a forcefield generator allowing them to imitate aura, in a sense."

"Whoa… That sounds amazing…" Ruby gasped with Yang nodding in agreement.

Forcefield technology exists, but from what they could understand, the number of Dust used to fuel those is exceedingly high. Not to mention the complicated engineering feat behind it.

Penny continued, "They also have a sophisticated self-learning programming that allows them to quickly process their current situation and adapt accordingly, utilizing over a thousand combat styles. Of course, it is not without limitation. I can go into the specific details, but I believe Jaune is capable of explaining it better than I am."

"Hey there!" Nora popped in from behind, startling Yang and Ruby. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation, and I heard that you are friends with the blond guy on the screen. I was wondering if maybe you can introduce us to him because Renny and I… Hrmphk!"

Ren covered his hand over Nora's mouth and pulled her back, "Sorry about that. Nora's a bit… Carefree. And outspoken."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Penny greeted them, "You must be Renny, my name's Penny. Our names rhyme!"

"Nice to meet you Penny. Unfortunately, my real name is Lie Ren. But you can call me Ren."

"I'm Nora!" His companion muffled behind his hand.

"Yang and this is my little sister, Ruby." Yang introduced herself and Ruby. "She's shy."

Ruby pouted at that remark, "Yang, why?"

"It's okay Ruby. Shyness is a commonality throughout all spectrum."

"Thanks, Penny." She grumbled.

"You're welcome. Now, what was that question you were about to ask?" Penny asked Nora, completely forgetting about Yang's final question regarding Ciana and Verdell.

"It's nothing," Ren answered, not wanting to be intrusive. "We'll be on our way now. Sorry to intrude."

"You're not intruding." Yang spoke up, seeing this as a good opportunity for Ruby to socialize a bit. "We were just… Uh, what were we doing earlier?" She hated it when she gets startled, it makes her forget about things, sometimes.

"Asking Penny questions and watching TV?" Ruby answered somewhat helpfully.

"Right, that. And it looks like the show's over." They glanced at the screen, which now displays Beacon's security force making their way back towards the carrier with the camera drones shutting off one by one. "Time to get to know each other," Yang said with a grin.

Penny nodded, "As Jaune always said to me, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet'."

"You said it sister!" Nora exclaimed as she managed to dislodge Ren's hand from her mouth.

"Sister?" Penny blinked. There were only two people that called her sister and that's from Ciana and Verdell.

"Yes, sisters. We have the same hair color, similar eye color; we're practically sisters!" Nora exclaimed, bouncing around the android girl. "You got that look in your eye. The look of us! And those arms. Oooh… I can feel the strength underneath those wimpy arms… The power!"

Penny looked confused, "What do you mean by that?"

Nora didn't seem to hear her question as she continued to sprout her nonsense, "Well, they can't keep all that power down! We will be free! We will be feared! We will be sisters! It doesn't matter what we are! Whether we're related or not, we redheads have to stick together in this world full of Grimms and bad people. And what should we sisters be doing? We should be breaking their legs!"

"I'm confused." Said Ruby, not catching the subject.

"I think she ate too many sweets…" Ren meekly said, cursing himself for not keeping track of her sugary intakes. "Maybe something else as well."

"R-really?" The leg-breaking part went completely over the android girl's head. "You don't care what I am?"

"Of course not, silly." Nora waved her hand dismissively, "What matters is that we're sisters now, and nothing is going to change that!"

Everybody nearby suddenly felt that they were in danger.

"Nora." Ren half-whimpered, years of experience of being together with Nora tells him that things are about to go off the rails.

"Give me a hug, sister," Nora said with her arms wide open. "Hug me with all you got!"

Ruby pulled her hood over her head, "Oh no…"

"Ah, jeez." Yang backed away seeing Penny's joyful expression.

/-/

Cinder growled as she pulled up her scroll's contact and started dialing Dr. Arthur Watts. She despised the man, belittling her. Every. Single. Time! No doubt the moment his stupid face shows up will he start insulting her.

If only she could burn him to crisp and have her two underlings smear his remains into a latrine.

Sadly, her mistress will have none of it; finding the disgraced Atlesian scientist indispensable.

After the second ring, Arthur answered the scroll through the video feed with an unhappy expression.

'I hate you as well' Cinder venomously thought, "The operation-"

"What could you possibly mess up this time?" Arthur asked disdainfully.

Cinder's eyes twitched, "Nothing went wrong." She said through her gritted teeth, "The operation went well, and we have taken all of the cargo that was being transported, so I expect you to give me the gratitude I deserve."

"Hm, yes." Arthur nodded, "You'll get my gratitude once you deliver my precious cargo to me. And I want them in good condition, not a shambled wreck like your previous delivery."

"That was not my fault. We didn't know that there were anti-theft measures in place that self-destructs your 'precious cargo'." She spat. Not to mention that the self-destruct mechanism only went off on a handful of their cargo and not the entire shipment.

"How sad, to be limited to a restricted mindset of thinking. Perhaps if you considered the content of what our mistress and I ordered you to steal, you wouldn't be providing us with such lukewarm results."

Cinder nearly incinerated her scroll but caught herself. Taking a deep breath, she counted to ten and glared at the doctor. "Where. Do. You. Want. These?"

Arthur looked unamused, "The same location. I expect my shipment to arrive there on time as well, now work on it. I have another experiment I am working on with Dr. Merlot, and I don't have time for your incompetence."

"It'll be there." Cinder hissed.

"It better be." He said coldly as he ended the call.

Cinder stood there for a moment before blasting a large fireball at a wall, charring the metalwork. She turned around and stormed towards the docking area, slowly regaining her cool and in-control appearance.

"Ma'am." One of Cinder's underlings, Emerald, quickly rushed to her side. "Adam Taurus is here, ma'am."

"Oh, about time. I was beginning to think he wouldn't make it. Bring him to me." She smirked as Emerald went to retrieve their guest.

Adam came walking in with a guarded expression. His white mask shined underneath the moonlight and his crimson hair was slicked back.

He was flanked by Emerald and Mercury who were currently glaring daggers at each other for some reason. She'll have to sort them out later, but it's time to seal the deal in order to gain the White Fang's cooperation.

"Adam." Cinder greeted him coolly.

"Cinder." He responded flatly, "I believe you want to show me something?"

"Why, yes. Yes, I do." She beckoned him over with her finger, which he reluctantly obeyed. "Take a look, and I assure you. You will not be disappointed working with me."

Out on the abandoned docking area, the White Fang were transporting a variety of machineries and crates. Pilotable mechs of varying sizes, deactivated combat androids including the infamous Cerberus series, performance-enhancing combat suits, and experimental weaponry of all kinds.

Roman Torchwick was below, barking orders at the grunts and chewing an occasional one out for recklessly handling the cargo.

"…" Adam stayed silent.

"I promised you that you will have your vengeance, and I always keep my promises. Now you must keep yours." Cinder purred as she traced her finger on his back. "What you see here are the very tools, the very weapons that have been used by humans to suppress your kind. Now, they're in your hands." She leaned closer, whispering in his ears. "Do we have a deal?"

Adam swallowed, "Yes. We have a deal."

* * *

**Rest in Pieces Cafeteria... You will not be missed. Er, you will be missed.**

**Nora scene makes no sense, but it was based off of a drunk skit. **

* * *

**Sorry about the delay, I was busy for the week.**

**One of my reviewers left a very good review regarding how the plot will progress. They have hit nail on nearly all the points that I want to write about in this story. (You know who you are.)**

**Chapter could had gone better and I need to improve my writing skills with practice. Need to improve my dialogues between characters, details, and scenery. **

**Next chapter will be the initiation.**

**Sorry if the quality dropped a bit, or if this chapter is disappointing. **

**Pardon my grammar.**

* * *

**Bounty Hunter Jaune will be updated next.**


	6. Chapter 4

**Finished this one early.**

**Pardon my grammar and structuring.**

**EDIT: Fixed an odd sentence.**

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

"So… What's this about a destroyed cafeteria?" Jaune asked as he walked alongside Glynda Goodwitch.

He had returned not long after the completion of his mission at Emerald Forest only to find that there was an incident in the cafeteria and that Penny was somehow involved. Jaune wondered what could have happened. A fight? Did someone pick a fight with Penny? Or did she happened to get roped in and managed to cause the most damage?

Glynda glanced at the young blondie and read his thoughts, "Rest assured Mr. Arc. It was not an altercation that caused the incident. Though I'm not exactly sure how to explain the incident in detail…"

"Why is that?"

"Well…" Glynda tried to think of a way to layout the details behind the incident. Both the reason why the cafeteria was turned inwards and the events that led to it. "It's a bit difficult to explain."

Jaune took a brief moment to construct his thoughts. "Is it because the situation was complicated, or ridiculous?" Having dealt with some of shenanigans Penny gets herself into every now and then.

"Ridiculous," Glynda confirmed.

"Oh."

"Indeed. It would be best if you hear from them."

"I understand. Has the cafeteria been repaired?"

With superpowered hormonal teenagers running amok in the academy and being taught how to fight no less; it was a miracle that any of the Hunters Academy is still standing. Jaune couldn't imagine how Beacon could without Glynda's semblance, especially given the details of the carnage that had taken place in the cafeteria.

She sighed, "It has. I have ensured that there is not a single scratch on the walls and floors. The tables, trays, and utensils have also been taken cared of as well."

"I am terribly sorry for Penny's action." Jaune apologized, "She's… Too pure at times and often forgets how to control her strength."

"There's nothing to apologize for, Mr. Arc. We are in a place of learning, and while I do not approve of such destructive behaviors, we are in an environment where such tendencies are bound to occur." Glynda stopped in front of the medical room, "We're here."

She opened the double doors and led Jaune inside. Nora was sitting on a nurse bed chatting happily with Ren who sat on a stool by her side. Penny was on another nurse bed across from Nora, looking a bit nervous as Jaune and Glynda entered the room.

"Professor Goodwitch." Ren stood up to greet her respectfully.

"Hello, Lie Ren." Glynda returned his greeting with a nod, "How are you all feeling?"

Nora quickly raised her hand up, "Doing well!" Audible sounds of bone popping and cracking could be heard. Her face went rigid with only her right eye twitching a bit from the pain. "I'm still okay."

"Nora!" Ren snapped at her as he quickly attended her side, "I told you not to move that arm! How are you going to participate in the initiation in this state!?"

"I'll be fine silly Renny." She replied dismissively.

Ren stared flatly at her, "Nora, your entire arm was dislocated and you somehow pulled a muscle during that so-called 'hug'."

"Hang on." Jaune cut in, "What's this about a hug?"

"Oh, that. Funny story." Nora took a deep breath, "So, I met my sister named Penny, she's not sister-sister, as in we're not related by blood or anything, not the red kind by the way. Oh, and she's right over there, I think you know her since she knows you. Unless you're famous or something." She nodded at Penny across from her, who promptly smiled nervously. "So, we decided to celebrate our meeting with a hug! Not like a birthday celebration because those involved cakes, and we didn't have cakes there. Oh, but we could always substitute cakes for pancakes, you know the fluffy ones with whip cream and strawberries on top?"

Jaune blinked trying to keep up with her ramblings but failed, how ironic. "Uh…"

Ren interrupted Nora's long-winded speech by covering her mouth with his hand. "I'm sorry about that. She's always been like this."

"Oh, no worries."

"Indeed." Glynda went with it as she pushed up her glasses. "That said, I am concerned about your physical wellbeing, Nora Valkyrie. That injured arm of yours will hinder you during your initiation. As such, it is our duty to-"

Nora's face immediately fell, fearing for the worst.

"W-wait! I can get better!" Nora cried.

Penny also protested in Nora's defense, "This is my fault! Please Professor Goodwitch, there must be another way!"

"Whoa." Jaune was taken aback by how loud the room suddenly got.

Glynda scowled and snapped her riding crop against the wall, "Children!" She shouted, quelling the noise. "Let me finish. It is our duty to ensure your safety and wellbeing until the initiation begins. That also extends to medical-related subjects, which had already been provided to you. Unfortunately, from what the doctor told me, your internal injuries, despite being a minor one, will not be healed in time before the initiation starts. Even with aura speeding your recovery process."

"Then what can you do?" Nora asked, uncertain of what will happen to her if she can't recover on time. Her dislocated arm has been set, but some of her muscle has been strained or pulled. She can't wield her weapon effectively with a damaged arm like that.

Glynda glared at Nora and Penny, causing them both to shrink. "You're all very lucky that Mr. Arc is here to help. His semblance allows him to amplify the properties of aura. That includes the healing aspect of it."

"Oh." Nora said blankly, "Ooooh!" She said this time with glee as she tried to hug Ren with her undamaged arm, "We're still going to be together! Well, we're not together-together, but you get the point."

Penny blinked, "Ah, that's right! Your injury is minor but significant. With Jaune's semblance, you should be fully recovered in no time!"

"You said it, sister! Hit me up, doctor!"

"So… How does your semblance work? Where do you start?" Ren asked, intrigued as Jaune's hand hovered over Nora's injured arm.

"I would need to be in contact with the individual if I want to use my semblance on them. Nora, requesting permission to hold your injured arm? It can just be me placing a finger on your arm for the duration."

"Sure!" Nora agreed, "This doesn't mean anything though."

"Of course." Jaune laughed as he gently touches her arm and activated his semblance. Nora's aura glowed brightly as warmth flooded into her arm, rekindling her torn muscles and energizing every fiber of her being.

She grinned maniacally, "Yes! Mwahahaha! I can feel the power coursing through my veins!" She continued to laugh evilly as she rotated her former injured arm around.

"Nora." Ren said with a deadpanned expression, "No. You've just recovered."

"Yessss… And now, I am now invincible!"

Glynda sighed tiredly and was already making her way out of the medical room. "It seems that Ms. Valkyrie is well. Now if you excuse me, I have something else I need to attend to." She paused at the door, "Once you are done, return to the ballroom and get some rest. Tomorrow is the initiation and you will require some decent rest if you wish to pass it."

"Thank you, Professor Goodwitch." Ren thanked the woman with a polite bow. "Have a good evening, ma'am."

"You're welcome. Have a good evening, children." Glynda bid them farewell as she walked out of the room.

"Pose with me, my mighty sister!" Nora said to Penny as she leaped onto the nurse bed and started making strongman pose.

"Okay!" Penny awkwardly followed suit, imitating Nora as she constantly switched poses.

Jaune couldn't help but chuckle at that. What on Remnant has he stumbled on at Beacon? Atlas Academy and the military faculty weren't as colorful, sure; but he was certain that things weren't this lively.

"Give her time. That energy boost will wear off soon."

Ren nodded, "Thank you. Mr. Arc, was it?"

"Jaune. Jaune Arc and you're very much welcome. Looks like you got a lot on your hand."

"Yes, Nora is… A bit of a handful, but nothing I can't handle. I've been meaning to ask you, but…"

A metallic creaking sound could be heard from Penny as she stretched her arm out in the air like she was pointing at something in the sky. The android girl froze, feeling her metal frame grinding against each other and fiber muscles getting pulled or cut. Penny had sustained damage during her 'hug' with Nora. The girl had a surprisingly strong embrace, unintentionally distorting her internal metal frame in the process.

Jaune's face turned pale. He hoped that the sound didn't indicate severe damage to Penny's internal frame or gave away Penny's true nature. He tried to rack up an excuse to get them out of there so he could repair the damage before it could get any worse.

"Hey, your scroll alarm is working Penny! Though we may have to adjust the audio a bit to change the alarm tone." Jaune mentally slapped himself for the lame excuse.

"That was your scroll alarm? I thought it was the sound of metal crushing against each other." Nora said thoughtfully, "Say, Ren, how about we get a scroll and set an alarm tone with the sound of a sloth?! That would be amazing!"

"Yes, amazing," Jaune said as he rushed over to Penny, who was still stuck in her pose. He lifted her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and headed towards the door. "Gotta go, good luck with your initiation!"

Jaune quickly carried Penny down the hallway, with Penny giving them her farewells. "Goodbye Nora, my proclaimed sister! Goodbye, my proclaimed sister's boyfriend!"

They sputtered at Penny's goodbyes, face turning slightly red.

"We're not together-together," Nora whispered softly so that Ren could not hear.

/-/

The Compact Auto Analysis and Repair Station, also known as CAARS; could be described as a large, high-tech rectangular prism that looked like it was made by aliens. Or Atlesian if you're from Atlas.

Designed by Jaune and Dr. Polendina, the Compact Auto Analysis and Repair Station was originally developed for Jaune, providing him a convenient way to repair and perform analysis on his androids on the move. It would eventually become integrated into the Atlesian Military Corps of Engineers as having a mobile factory workstation is extremely vital to their mechanical assets on the battlefield.

It's also easily transportable. Several variants have large wheels, allowing easy relocation from one place to another. If it were to encounter any difficult terrains like stairs or rocky hills, there are built-in gravity propulsion; fueled by Gravity Dusts of course, that all CAARS use to propel itself over those terrains.

Once it reaches its destination, it would set itself on the ground and start to unfold, revealing a miniature factory workshop inside. Robotic cranes, power drills, saws, laser cutters, storage, spare parts, etc. The content actually varies as the internal components could be removed or replaced depending on what the user needs.

Since Jaune can't relocate an entire industrial factory, or the lab's workshop back at Atlas; the mobile station has proven to be immensely valuable. Until the industrial workshop package can be installed into his lab, several CAARS is enough for Jaune to repair his entire platoon of androids.

Mechanical clicks and whirls emitted from the CAARS as small robotic arms wielding tools set to work on Penny's detached left arm that laid on a small table. To the right, a large surgical chair was situated not far from it with Penny being its current occupant.

"So, let me get this straight. This girl named Nora told you to not hold back on your hug and you actually listened to her?" Ciana repeated Penny's testimony with a perplexing tone.

"That is correct." Penny nodded as she sat comfortably on the chair as Jaune went over the damages on the monitor.

"And then you proceeded to bulldoze her across the cafeteria floor with one of your infamous glomps."

Penny hesitated before nodding, "Yes."

"Then she bulldozed you across the room as well. Challenging you to do better, which you complied with."

"Yes."

"And then it went into a stalemate with the both of you trying to squeeze each other to death."

"We had no such intention. It was a –"

"That was a figure of speech, Penny."

"Oh… Yes."

Ciana continued where she left off, "Which continued until you both stopped due to sustaining injuries, specifically the arms and ribs. In your case, she managed to somehow damage your fiber muscles and metal frames."

"She does have a powerful hold," Penny noted.

"No kidding," Jaune mumbled as he went through the damage report. The scan he ran on Penny picked up serpentine dents across her arms and torso. Fortunately, Jaune was familiar with repairing dents, though not to this extent. "Alright, this might take a while. Maybe more since I've never worked with dents like these before, but I think I can manage it."

Penny looked dispirited, "I am very sorry for my actions."

"Eh, things happen. Especially in a school full of empowered teenagers with weapons."

"Father, I have gathered the report you have requested." Verdell said as he entered the room, bearing the simplified report regarding their performance in Emerald Forest.

"Thank you, Verdell. Can you read it for me?"

"Of course, based on the data that we've gathered; all units performed exceptionally well. Execution of tactical maneuvers has been improved substantially with the knights keeping pace to the tempo and initiatives. Several units have conducted minor independent assessments and decision making when experiencing unforeseen scenarios, all with favorable outcomes."

Jaune nodded, "Looks like the neuro-evolution model is working well so far."

Having a model that records any faults and experiences for improvements greatly enhances the performance of the androids.

"It is." Verdell agreed before continuing his report. "Dust and ammunition consumption has reduced by 12.3% in comparison to the previous report. That is with the estimated amount of Grimms presented during the engagement."

"That's good. Any other notable highlights?" Jaune asked as he got to work.

"Negative."

"Damage report?"

"Five knights and an audax suffered minor scratches to their frames. The damage has already been addressed after the initial returning procedures."

"That's good," Jaune said as he carefully removed Penny's fake skin and placed it on a tray. "Anything else?"

"That concludes the report. More in-depth analysis will be delivered to your scroll."

"Thank you." Jaune yawned, feeling a bit tired for the night. "You two should take a break even though we don't have much to do tomorrow. I can't say the same for the students and support staff. Maybe the Headmaster and Professor Goodwitch too."

Tomorrow is the initiation, which means that staff will be preparing food, medical support, and monitoring the participants tomorrow. That said, his role will be gathering data on the first-year students participating in the initiation. Glynda has come up with a lesson centered around it and it will involve his help in laying out those lessons.

"Yes, father." His androids bowed before locking eyes… Err, visors with one another as they left for the lounging area.

It was time they finished their match of Remnant: Kingdoms and Grimms. A turned-based 4X strategy video game that allows players to start their own civilization or play as Grimms.

"Keep training those elite soldiers of yours, brother. I will see your treasury drained when you lose them in the desert."

"You are merely upset that I have the technological advantage over you. A shame you didn't reconsider optimizing your research on military-focus tech."

"Hit the showers, Verdell. At least I don't keep my people near starvation despite being in the marshlands."

Jaune laughed as the two bickered away. "Ah, those two. I should set the game's AI to King's mode. That should teach them to work together."

"That would be a very challenging task consider the AI uses one of my father's deep learning modules, along with your adaptive algorithms," Penny said, remembering several times where Ciana complains about the AIs being shrewd political backstabbers or military genius.

"True, but if they can manage to work together, the outcome would mostly be in their favor." He yawned.

Penny had a concerned look on her face, "Are you tired?"

"A little bit." He admits, "But don't worry, I can get you fixed before I hit the hay."

"Are you certain? The Compact Auto Analysis and Repair Station have my blueprints in store. It is capable of performing the repairs without…" Jaune ruffled her hair.

"Thanks, Penny. But I got this. Besides, it's been a while since I saw your internal workings. Dr. Polendina really pushed the limit on Atlas's technology with you." Jaune said as he admired Penny's inner workings.

Penny looked slightly flustered at his statement, "D-don't stare at it like t-that."

"Ah, right. Sorry. So, uh… How was your day?"

/-/

Beacon's Initiation starts roughly around late morning in order for participants to be well-fed and fully prepared for their upcoming trial.

Getting launched into Emerald Forest.

As the participants gathered their weapons and armors from their lockers, three girls and a boy were huddled at a section of the locker room. Albeit reluctantly as Nora gathered them on the spot, excitedly rambling about… Something.

"I know! We'll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal!" Nora exclaimed as she dashed from spot to spot. "A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can any of you imitate a sloth?"

"Uhhh…" Was the only response Ruby and Yang could utter.

"Nora…" Ren sighed.

"Yes, Ren?"

"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise."

This briefly caught Nora off-guard as her eyes dart left and right before sporting her usual grin. "… That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're all working together!"

"That's not against the rules, is it?" Ruby asked to which Yang simply shrugged.

"It wasn't written down."

"If it ain't written down, then it ain't law!" Nora laughed manically before spotting Penny standing behind the sisters and Ren, "Oh, hey there my mighty sister!"

"Salutation!" Penny greeted, startling the three who were unaware of her presence. "It is a fine late morning isn't it, dear sister, friend Ruby, Ruby's sister named Yang, and dear sister's boyfriend?"

Nora sputtered at that while Ren's eyes shifted away.

"Penny! Where did you come from?!" Ruby asked nearly choking on her salvia for the sudden scare. "Also, please don't sneak up on me like that."

"Yeah, seriously. How do you even do that?" Yang forced her heart to calm down.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know I was sneaking up on you." Penny apologized.

"You can just call me Yang, Penny. Oh, that reminds me. Where were you last night? Nora said you were literally picked up by that blond guy from the TV screen." She said with a wolfy smile.

"Oh, you must be talking about Jaune. Yes, I was indeed picked up by Jaune." Penny paused for a bit recalling the excuse Jaune suggested to her so that she does not reveal her robotic nature, yet. "I required another medical checkup due to my unique condition. That was why I was not able to be at the ballroom last night like all the other participants."

Yang would have made a joke about the medical checkup, but that could have been very insensitive of her in regards to whatever Penny's unique condition is. Better play it safe. "So that's why. Are you feeling better?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking," Penny replied cheerfully.

"Well, the gang's all here!" Nora wrapped her arms around all four and pulled them close. "We should try forming a team together! Not together-together. Together as in, we are a team! Hey sister, can you imitate a sloth?"

"I'm afraid that I am unable to imitate a sloth."

"Do sloths even make a sound?" Ruby asked.

Penny nodded, "They do, but the noise that they make can vary. Often times, it is akin to a human or faunus cry."

Nora gasped, "Then… Could it mean we're all sloths?! That. Is. Awesome!"

"It's almost time for the initiation." Ren said, "Come on, let's go."

"We're team sloth~ We're team sloth~" Nora sang as she skipped out of the room with Ren.

Yang scratched her head, "You guys go on ahead. I forgot to get my magazines." She said as she went to retrieve her ammunition magazines from her locker.

"Okay. Let's go, Penny, we have a whole day ahead of us!"

"You are a lot more cheerful than yesterday," Penny noted.

Ruby nodded, "Yup! No more awkward small talk or 'getting to know you' stuff. Today, I get to let me sweetheart do the talking." She said as she took out Crescent Rose and caress it.

"I see. It appears that we both… It's Winter's little sister." She started gliding towards the familiar girl with white hair, Weiss Schnee.

Ruby reached out and grabbed Penny's hand, trying to stop her from meeting the mean girl. "Penny, no. She looks busy." She fiercely whispered.

"But it's Winter's little sister. I had the pleasure of meeting her yesterday after you were indisposed." She continued to make her way towards Weiss who was talking to another girl Penny recognized as Pyrrha Nikos.

"So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you would be on?" Weiss asked with an ulterior motive in mind. Pyrrha Nikos, top graduate of Sanctum Academy and four-timed champion of Mistral Regional Tournament; who wouldn't want her to be on their team? "I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual, such as yourself."

"Hmm…" Pyrrha thought for a moment, "I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together."

Pyrrha gave her the celebrity smile. The typical smile she gives when she's on camera, "Well, that sounds grand!"

"Great!" Weiss replied with a smile. She turned around to internally monologue only to come face to face with a smiling Penny. "Ah!" Weiss yelped in surprised as she jumped back. "Penny?! Don't do that you…" Weiss caught herself, nearly giving Pyrrha a bad impression of herself if she were to insult the odd girl.

"Salutation, Weiss." Penny greeted her with a salute, "How are you this fine morning?"

"I am doing well, thank you very much." The heiress replied haughtily and narrowed her eyes at Ruby who was currently hiding behind Penny. "I take it you know of Pyrrha?"

"I have, but not in person." There is a Virtual Training Simulator combatant that was modeled after Pyrrha, which Penny was familiar in fighting against. Aside from that, all knowledge of the champion is by reputation only. "My name's Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you, Penny." Pyrrha waved.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"You already said that." Ruby and Weiss pointed out simultaneously as they glanced at each other.

Penny thought about this for a moment before nodding, "So, I did!"

Since Ruby made her presence known, she figured that it would be best to introduce herself. "Hello, Pyrrha. I'm Ruby."

"Hello, Ruby. Nice to meet you as well."

"Ruby here is the first friend I made at Beacon," Penny stated proudly, trying to make up a conversation like those guidebooks recommend.

"Yup, that's me."

"Uh-huh." Weiss interrupted her. "That's interesting and all, but I believe the initiation is about to start." On cue, Glynda's voice came through the PA asking all first-year students to report to Beacon Cliff. "See what I mean?" She said with a smug look.

"I see what you mean." The android girl nodded while smiling.

_'Of course, you do.'_ Weiss mentally sigh to herself, wondering how her sister got involved with this odd girl. But then again, she wasn't exactly familiar with the things that Winter do as a Specialist, much less, in her free time. If she has any…

/-/

Overlooking Emerald Forest is Beacon Cliff.

The starting point of Beacon Academy's Initiation and a source of entertainment for Ozpin; sending students flying into the forest. But before he could do that, he needs to explain to them the rules of the initiation. How unfortunate.

Holding his mug in one hand, he swept his gaze across the first-year students before him and began his address.

"For years you have trained to become warriors. Today, your abilities will be evaluated in Emerald Forest."

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates… Today." Glynda explained with a stern expression.

"What? Aw…" Ruby whimpered.

"Are you alright?" Penny asked.

"Just… Scared that I might be put in with a bunch of strangers."

Ozpin continued where Glynda left off, "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So, it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well.

Ruby whimpered again.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next 4 years."

This seemed too shattered Ruby as her eyes went wide and white with shock. "What?!"

"See, told you so," Nora said to Ren.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die." Several students nodded grimly while a few like Nora and Penny retained their excited expression. "You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

None of the students raised their hands.

"Good! Now, take your positions." Ozpin's eyes sparkled with glee as all of the students readied themselves to be launched into the forest, one by one. As they were being catapulted into the sky, Jaune was quickly making his way towards the cliff.

"Mr. Arc, glad you decided to join us," Glynda said with a smile.

"I figured that I would get a better view of things from here while I gather the data. The breeze is nice as well. Oh, by the way, how much weight can the launchpad handle?" He asked as he waved at Penny and Ruby who returned it in kind.

Glynda looked it up on her scroll. "Hm… I am not entirely familiar with the amount it could handle, but we shouldn't have a problem considering we had students utilizing both heavy armor and weapons."

They all turned towards Penny as she was the last participant to be launched right after Ruby. There was an awful creaking noise coming from the launchpad as it tried to launch Penny, managing to send her flying a few feet before she landed flat on her face.

The grass dirt now had a shallow imprint of Penny as she laid there, face buried in the ground.

"Hm… We may need to make some readjustment to our launch pads." Ozpin mused as he sipped from his mug, all while watching the students fall from the sky.

Glynda pushed her glasses up, face unreadable. "I stand corrected."

"It's the gravity Dust in her swords... You okay, Penny?" Jaune asked.

"I am okay!" Her voice muffled by the dirt.

"Don't ground the gravity Dust yet." Jaune instructed, "Let them loose, especially in the air so you can glide. You can ground them once you're on the ground."

"Understood. I am combat ready!"

"Indeed." Ozpin said with a smile, "Now then, we can't let Ms. Polendina lag behind the rest, can we? Glynda, if you please?"

* * *

**SHIPPING is up in the air for me in this story right now.**

**Penny is currently getting the spotlight right now, but as the story progress Jaune will be taking the role as he will be interacting with the rest of the staff, students, and villains.**

**The acronym, CAARS is terrible. Oh well.**

**FUN FACT: In the RWBY manga (I didn't read it), Penny can glide with her swords.**

**Pardon my grammar.**


	7. Chapter 5

**Pardon my grammar.**

**I have posted some Concepts on my Profile page. If you're interested in what they are, come and check them out.**

**Penny's weapon has been official revealed as Floating Array.**

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

Penny's weapon, Floating Array; has many capabilities and usage.

One of her favorites is the ability to fly. Utilizing her compacted Gravity Dust and altering the formation of her swords, Penny can attach them to her back and form a jetpack, allowing her to take to the skies. The ability to fly is exhilarating for her. As Jaune would often describe it; Penny felt like she was no longer a caged bird. Unfortunately, this flight ability of hers often leads to Penny getting distracted.

Arms outstretched in front of her, Penny surveyed the terrain below her, pondering if she should head straight towards her destination first, or find a partner.

"It seems that some had already found their partners." She could see several students already forming pairs and teams from the sky. "What would Jaune do in this situation?"

As he would always say, "Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." And also, "Don't take it at face value."

After a moment of consideration, Penny decided that she should find her partner first before going for the relic.

"How should I approach this?" She continued to glide over the forest, looking for someone to partner up with. As she silently flew, Penny relished her surroundings as she picked out beautiful green scenery before her.

Atlas, for all its technical marvels and impressive establishments, lacked the greenery and clear blue skies that Penny enjoyed. The cold weather doesn't do wonder for the vegetation, and the sky is no different. To top it all off, she was mostly confined in a facility that's mostly sterile and lifeless at times.

For once, she was actually enjoying the outdoors and most importantly, in person rather than viewing it from the screen. Not to mention the warmth of the sun bearing on her back.

"Hmm… I heard that people often enjoyed a pastime called cloud gazing." She rotated her body so that she could face the sky. "It is often said that the clouds could form the shape of familiar objects. I wonder what I can perceive."

/-/

Two Beowolves collapsed onto the ground as Pyrrha Nikos easily dispatched them. She had been making her way towards the ruins for several minutes and has yet to encounter anybody to partner with, which irked her to some degree. It was as if her semblance had magically repelled every single would-be partner from her vicinity. Nonetheless, she must continue her way to the temple in order to retrieve the relics while hoping she would find a partner along the way.

Of course, she has some expectations of who her partner should be. Someone who sees her as Pyrrha Nikos, not the invincible four-time champion of Mistral Regional Tournaments. Someone who doesn't care about her fame, and won't use her for her fame… Just another huntress-in-training who just so happened to be more skilled than the rest. Is that so much to ask?

Pyrrha cleared her thoughts from her mind and continued to trek through the forest.

Her weapon and shield, Milo and Akouo, were out in front of her, ready to deal with any threats that may come her way. Brushing through the bushes and low hanging tree branches, Pyrrha came through a small clearing where the sunlight shined down upon the flowers and grass.

The scenery was quite nice, she admired it. Regrettably, this was not the time for sightseeing as she passed through the sunlight filtering through the trees. As she did, something above the skies screeched; startling her as she turned her attention towards the sky.

A giant Nevermore furiously flapped its wing in the air as it frantically tried to regain balance from its collision against a girl with orange hair and green eyes. Pyrrha recognized the girl from the locker room. It's Penny!

Penny bounced off the Nevermore's collar bone and spiraled towards the ground while the Nevermore was knocked back towards the mountainsides.

"Oh no!" Pyrrha rushed to help the girl as she flung her Akouo like a frisbee, letting it fly towards Penny in hopes that she can use the shield to break her fall. Activating her semblance, Polarity; Pyrrha steadied the shield's trajectory and levitate it as Akouo flew underneath the falling girl.

She must have underestimated her mastery over her semblance as Penny drove through Akouo, launching it back at its owner like a giant flipped coin. Pyrrha yelped, letting her shield flip over her head as she ducked and retrieved it with her semblance.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha tried another approach, using her semblance on Penny in hopes that she had something metallic on her, but it didn't seem that she had any or enough as the girl continued to fall. Pyrrha had no choice but to watch helplessly as Penny came crashing into the ground.

Chunks of grass dirt burst into the air and nearby vegetation was uprooted as Penny crashed landed with a heavy thud.

From above, the giant Nevermore screeched angrily as it tried to slow its fall, wildly thrashing in the air as it crashed into a mountainside. A glorious dirt-covered explosion engulfed the Nevermore as it collided into the rocky mountainside, causing part of the mountain to cave in and burying the Nevermore underneath the rubble.

Pyrrha frantically ran to where Penny had crashed landed and peered over the crater, fearing for the worse. Instead, what she got was a surprised looking Penny who blinked several times at her before smiling.

"Salutation!" She waved as she laid there in the crater.

"Oh, thank god." Pyrrha placed a hand over her heart and breathed out a sigh of relief. "Are you alright?" She wasn't able to reach down and give Penny a hand as the crater was several meters deep.

"I'm wonderful. Thank you for asking."

There was an awkward silence between the two as they both tried to think of something to say.

"Can you get up?"

Penny nodded, "I can."

"…"

"…"

"… Do you want to get up?"

Penny seemed to ponder about this for a brief moment before nodding, "Yes." She leaped out of the crater and brushed her dress as she turned to face Pyrrha. "I am currently in search of a partner. Do you have a partner?"

"I haven't found a partner, yet." Pyrrha smiled, "Guess that means we're partners now."

"Sensational!" Penny jumped with glee. "My name's Penny. Penny Polendina, it's a pleasure to meet you again!" Penny put out her hand to which Pyrrha shook it.

"The pleasure is mine, Penny. I'm Pyrrha Nikos. Nice to meet you again."

In the distance, the fallen Nevermore burst out of the rubbles, shrieking angrily as it launched itself into the air, intending to find the one that made it crashed. It was joined in by a Deathstalker, who did not enjoy having its resting ground disturbed. Together, the giant Grimms began their hunt, plowing through the forest as they tracked down their offender.

"It appears that we have two large Grimms heading towards our way," Penny noted as the giant Nevermore spotted her. It gave an ear-piercing shrieked and dived at them with its talons outreached. "Fear not, my partner. I will –" Whatever Penny was about to say was cut short as Pyrrha grabbed her by the arms and fled with her partner in hand. "Where are we going?"

"Away from here!" Pyrrha shouted, dragging her away.

The ground rumbled as a Deathstalker tore through the trees, joining the Nevermore in its pursuit on the huntresses. Pyrrha and Penny picked up the pace as they dodged the Nevermore's talon, fleeing deeper into the thickening woods.

Their footsteps crunched on the fallen twigs, followed by the sound of howling wind and slow rolling thunder as the Nevermore and Deathstalker relentlessly hunted them.

Pyrrha was frantically trying to think of a way to get out of this situation. The thick forest wasn't slowing down the Deathstalker while the Nevermore still had its sight on them despite the trees blocking most of its view.

The first step, don't panic. Fear will lead the Grimms to them.

"Penny, we need to keep calm while on the move. The Grimms will have a harder time if we manage to control our negative emotions!"

Her partner responded with a smile. "Oh, alright. But we just so happened to miss our path to the temple."

"Huh?" The champion gave Penny a bewildered look.

"There was a clearing on our right that leads to the temple. If we can recalculate our pathing, we may be able to make it to the temple and retrieve the relics." Penny explained while maintaining her breath despite sprinting. "From there, we can mount a defense and possibly find assistance in taking action against the Grimms."

"Sounds reasonable." Pyrrha panted as she picked up the pace, trying to keep out of the Deathstalker's reach. "How do we…?"

"Allow me to assist you." Penny appeared behind her and lifted Pyrrha into the air. "Don't worry, partner Pyrrha. I will carry you to our destination."

"Surely you can't carry me all the way there!" Her protest fell on deaf ears as Penny increased her speed, outrunning the Deathstalker. "You'll tire yourself! Save your strength!"

"I will now fly us to our location."

"What?!"

"Take off in 3…"

"Wait, what do you mean fly?"

"2…"

"How are you doing this?"

"1…"

"…" Pyrrha braced herself.

"Take off!"

/-/

"Our last pair has been formed, sir," Glynda announced as she flipped through the camera feeds, listing off the pairs in each one. "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Though, I am surprised the boy is rather close to Ms. Valkyrie." She flipped over to Penny taking off with Pyrrha, upending the ground in the process as they burst through the air. "And… Ms. Nikos…"

"Hmm…" Ozpin hummed as he watched Pyrrha's reaction with amusement.

Jaune chuckled awkwardly, "This is Penny's first time working closely with a partner that isn't me, Ciana, or Verdell. There's Winter, but that could only go so far." Not that Winter had any problem with Penny. She was surprisingly lax with the android girl, though Winter does get agitated by Penny's wanderlust every now and then. "She tends to overperform around new faces."

"I see. It seems that there are two formidable Grimms pursuing them. A fully grown Nevermore and a Deathstalker." She had a flat look, but Jaune knew that she was worried about them. "It'll take at least a team of hunters-in-training to take those down."

"Penny does possess the capabilities and weaponry to handle them…"

"We were made aware of Penny's capabilities, courtesy of General Ironwood." The headmaster took a sip from his mug, watching the android girl and her partner make a U-turn in the air, zooming past the Nevermore. "But to what extent exactly?"

Glynda rolled her eyes and shook her head. "As if the cafeteria incident wasn't enough."

Jaune gulped at the mention of the 'temporarily' destruction of the cafeteria. "W-well… It's a bit hard to gauge, but the Nevermore and Deathstalker shouldn't be much of an issue. Though it looks like her partner wasn't aware of that, otherwise they would be fighting instead of running."

Glynda sighed at the prospect of having to handle more catastrophes. "I guess we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace, they should reach the temple within a minute, or less." She put away her tablet and walked down the hill with Jaune following behind. "Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year?" The question was directed to Ozpin.

"…" Ozpin didn't say anything. He was deep in his thoughts and his eyes were firmly planted on his scroll.

"Is he always like this?" Jaune whispered.

"Sometimes… Professor Ozpin?" She called out again.

"Hmm…" Ozpin hummed.

/-/

"Think this is it?" Yang asked regarding the small circular temple in front of them. There were several pedestal holding chess pieces, which she and her partner; Blake Belladonna, assumed to be the 'relics'.

Blake responded by giving her partner a flat look as they walked down the hill towards the temple.

"Some of them are missing." Yang noted, "Looks like we weren't the first ones here."

"Well… I guess we should pick one." They took a look at their remaining options.

"Hmm…" Yang shuffled around before stopping in front of the White Knight piece. "How about a cute little pony?" She snatched up the piece and waved it in the air.

"Sure," Blake said with a smile as they regrouped, ready to head back.

"That wasn't too hard."

"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find" Blake then frowned as she gazed into the sky. "Is that a girl carrying another girl while flying in the sky followed by a Nevermore that's holding your sister and Weiss Schnee?" She asked as Penny and Pyrrha soared through the sky with a giant Nevermore in tow, holding two more huntresses in red and white.

"What?" Yang had an incredulous look on her face. "Oh, I get it. Nice try, Blakey. That's not going to work on me. Thought you had me there, didn't ya? With your quiet and mysterious personality, huh? Not going to happen. Nuh-uh."

"Uhm…" Blake pointed at the air.

Yang crossed her arms with a smug smile. "Nope. Not gonna happen."

High above the skies, Ruby and Weiss were learning what it is like to be whisked away by a Nevermore as they struggled to keep their grip on its feathers and talons.

"Ruby!" Weiss yelled over the howling winds. "I told you this was a terrible idea! Look what you got us into!"

"We're fine!" Ruby shouted back, "Stop worrying!" Her 'brilliant' idea didn't go as planned, but at the very least they found the temple. "Look! That's the temple down there! Oh, Yang is there as well!"

"Is that all you can think of right now?! And for the record, I am so far beyond worrying!" Fed up with her partner's shenanigans.

"In a good way?!"

"In a bad way! In a very bad way!"

"Well, why don't we just jump?!"

"What are you, insane?!" Weiss glared at her partner, only to find her gone as Ruby had already let go of the Nevermore. "Oh, you insufferable little –!"

Back at the ground, Blake was still frozen on the spot, mouth slightly agape as she pointed up at the scene in the sky while Yang was starting to become irritated.

"Blake, did you hear what I said?" The blond brawler waved a hand in front of Blake's face. "You can stop…"

A figure landed nearby; catching the attention of Yang and Blake's as the figure turned out to be Pyrrha Nikos, who promptly drop-rolled on the ground. Pyrrha rolled to her feet with a guarded expression as she surveyed the area, dropping it when she saw Yang and Blake.

"Oh, hello there." Pyrrha smiled and waved at them.

"Where did you come from?" Yang asked.

"Uhm…"

"Oh well, nice of you to drop by." She laughed at her joke before catching herself and swiveled her head towards her partner. "Wait, you weren't joking about that!?"

"Uh… Your sister…" Blake pointed at another falling girl.

"Heads uuuuuuuup!" Ruby screamed as she fell from the sky.

Yang's eyes widen with worry, "Ruby! Hold on, I got you!" She was about to lunge towards her falling sister, only to be caught off guard as Penny flew by and snatched her sister out of the air.

"Hello, Ruby!" Penny cheerfully greeted the girl as she slowed her descend and set a bewildered Ruby down on the ground. "I trust that you are alright?"

"Penny?! I didn't know you could fly! Oh, and I'm fine. Thank you very much."

"You're very welcome. To answer your question, yes. Floating Array is capable of providing me with the ability to fly by utilizing Gravity Dust as a propellant."

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked, not quite believing what she just saw. "And was that the Pyrrha Nikos who just fell from the sky and greeted us?"

On cue, Pyrrha popped up next to them and waved, "Hello again."

"Hey." Blake waved at the champion numbly.

"I…" Yang was interrupted as an Ursa burst out of the forest, roaring and flailing like it was trying to throw off something.

"Yeehaw!" No doubt, it was Nora riding the Grimm as it collapsed to the ground. "Aww. It's broken." She said sadly before jumping back on its corpse, "Eeeew…"

Ren ran out from the forest, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him. "Nora…!" He wheezed, "Run! Don't stop!"

The Deathstalker from earlier came crashing through the forest, shaking the ground as it stomped towards them. The scene quickly descended into chaos as Yang and Pyrrha were trying to piece their mind together, while Blake was flatly stating the obvious.

"Ruby!"

"Yang!"

"Nora!"

"Salutations everyone! Do you require my assistance against the Nevermore and Deathstalker?" Penny chirped into the chaos, sporting her usual smile.

"Hello… Again?"

"Did you two run all the way here with a Deathstalker on your tail?" Blake questioned Nora and Ren, who had managed to temporary shake off the Deathstalker as the Grimms regrouped to coordinate their attack.

Yang's eyes blazed bright red, her hair flaring up as she started to growl, "I can't take it anymore!" She snapped, embers blazing around here. "Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!"

"Setting clock timer to two seconds." Penny started the timer on her custom wrist scroll, letting it tick for two seconds while everyone simply stared at her. A small ding was heard after two seconds had passed. "Two seconds has passed. Has everyone taken their time to 'chill out'?"

"Nice scroll." Nora gave Penny a thumbs up.

"Thank you."

Ruby nudged on Yang's arm as she pointed towards the sky. "Um… Yang?"

Still in the air, desperately clinging to the Nevermore, Weiss Schnee was quickly losing her grip as she slowly slips from the Nevermore's talon. "How could you leave me?!" She wailed.

"I said 'jump'."

"She's gonna fall," Blake stated matter-of-factly.

"She'll be fine."

"She's falling," Ren said, backing Blake's statement.

Meanwhile, Nora and Penny were making binoculars gesture with their hands as they watched the heiress fall from the sky.

"What do you see?"

"I see Winter's little sister, Weiss Schnee, falling."

Pyrrha took control of the situation and tapped on Penny on the shoulder. "Penny, do you have enough Gravity Dust to fly?"

"You can fly?" Nora gasped.

"I do, and I can." Penny nodded to both of their questions.

"Alright, we'll distract the Nevermore and Deathstalker, while you'll go get Weiss. Come on!" Pyrrha drew Milo in its rifle form and fired at the Deathstalker's eyes. "Go, go!"

Penny took to the skies as the Nevermore circled back towards the group. It shrieked as it sent out a volley of rigid feathers towards Penny.

The android girl accelerated and managed to get to Weiss before the feathers could rain down upon them. Penny caught the heiress by the waist and pulled her away from the barrage as they zipped through the volley of sharp feathers.

Ruby raised Crescent Rose, took aim at the Nevermore and fired. The bullet struck the Nevermore in the skull; stunning the Nevermore and ending the continuous volley of feathers.

"I got you covered!" Ruby shouted as she waved her hand in the air, hoping to buy some cookie points with her partner.

"You have my sincerest gratitude." Weiss thanked the android girl as they glided down towards the temple. "You too, I suppose." She eyed her partner.

"You are most welcome." Penny smiled, "I must now go help my partner and sister. And her boyfriend as well."

"Wait, you have a sister?" Ruby questioned, but Penny was already leaping towards the Deathstalker. "I'll… Ask you later." She turned to Weiss. "So… I'm sorry for…"

Weiss sighed and held up her hand. "Let me go first. I am sorry."

"Okay… Wait, wha?" Ruby's mouth was agape. Was her partner apologizing?!

"You are so childish. And dimwitted, and hyperactive. And don't even get me started on your fighting style. And I suppose, I can be a bit…" Weiss paused as she tried to find a word. "Difficult. But if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together." The heiress put out her hand. "So, if you quit trying to show off. I'll be… Nicer."

"I'm not trying to show off…" Ruby said as she shook Weiss's hand. "I want you to know I can do this."

"You're fine," Weiss assured her as they walked towards the chess pieces. "There's no sense in dilly-dallying when our objective is right in front of us. Let's quickly pick one and help the rest."

"What about this pony?" Ruby picked up a White Knight chess piece.

"That's a knight."

"But it looks like a pony."

Weiss rolled her eyes and opened her mouth, ready to explain why the knight pieces are symbolized with a horse head but were interrupted with an ear-piercing shriek as the ground shook around them. They turned around and saw Penny casually dropping the Deathstalker into the ground with her swords impaling its limbs.

"Looks like they don't need our help," Weiss said with a frown. "Still, let's not…" She couldn't help but pause at what happened next.

Everyone watched in awe as Penny spun the Deathstalker in the air with her swords before dislodging them, sending it flying at the Nevermore in the sky.

"Whoa… She's strong." Ruby gasped.

"You go, sister!" Nora cheered with sparkling eyes.

The Deathstalker screeched as it flew past the Nevermore, causing the avian Grimm to squawk in surprise. It flapped its wings, holding its position as it let its unfortunate brethren past, allowing Penny to line up her shot.

"Floating Array overloading." Her eyes glowed bright green as Floating Array spun in place, condensing as it spun faster and faster. Each sword started to glow green as an emerald-colored orb started to form at the center of the rotating blades. "Plotting attack vector. Realigning targeting computer." Penny locked on to her targets. "Discharging Floating Array."

"I... Think we should back away." Blake crawled back from the glowing light.

"Good idea." Everyone nodded.

The entire area was basked in green as Floating Array unleashed its stored energy, firing a large green laser beam at the two giant Grimms in the sky, vaporizing them within seconds.

As the light show died down, Penny smiled and settled her weapon behind her. As for the rest of her peers. Most of them dropped their weapons along with their jaws from shock at what had just happened.

Penny glanced sheepishly at them with her hands behind her back. "I believe Jaune would have said, 'that was overkill'?" Penny said bashfully as she rocked softly on the ground.

"That. Was. Amazing!" Nora shouted at the top of her lungs as she hugged her 'sister'. "I like your style, sister! There's no kill like overkill, is my saying. Ya know what I'm sayin'?"

"I think I do understand what you are saying." She nodded, "But wouldn't that take up too many resources? Oh, speaking of resources… I seemed to have depleted mines…" Penny looked faint as she leaned on Nora's arms.

"Are you alright, Penny?" Nora asked with a frown.

Penny nodded, "Just a bit tired. I have expended most of my energy." Penny murmured sleepily.

Pyrrha regained her senses and ran up to checked on her partner. "Penny, are you okay? You've overexerted yourself. Please be more careful." She slung Penny's arm over her shoulder, carrying some of her weight while Nora shouldered the other. She was surprisingly heavy…

"I am grateful for your concern, partner of mine. We should… Retrieve the relic and… Return back… To the cliff…" Penny slowly dozed off as her backup system recuperate from the overload.

"Penny? Penny!"

* * *

**Pardon my grammar.**

**This chapter was a bit rushed near the end, I will admit. Penny did have some upgrades along the way. Next chapter will focus on the teams first day and then Jaune.**

**I have posted some Concepts on my Profile page. If you're interested in what they are, come and check them out.**


	8. Chapter 6

**SORRY! It was a very busy week. Exams and life has been stomping in. **

**I will be posting another chapter for this series in a few days in order to make up the lost days. **

**This chapter is a bit short, my bad.**

**Pardon my grammar.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Seven teenagers waited outside the medical office for an update on the condition of their friend and teammate, Penny Polendina. They sat silently but retained their optimism for their odd friend.

"So, what do you think happened back there that made Penny, err… Fall asleep?" Ruby's restless leg kicked back and forth from her seat while she fidgeted with her red cloak.

Penny's sudden collapsed had startled everyone who had feared for her wellbeing since they were in the middle of a Grimm infested forest.

Why did Penny collapse?

Did she somehow exert all her energy? She did heave a Deathstalker high into the air and vaporized it with a massive laser beam along with a Nevermore. Though it would appear that the laser beam seemed to have drained the energy out of Penny more than the former.

"Well, she did singlehandedly kill two giant Grimms for us," Blake answered with a befuddled expression. "With a giant laser… For the record, how does anyone stuff a giant death laser into a couple of rotating swords?" The raven-haired girl glanced around for answers only to receive shrugs.

Aside from Ruby who had seen Penny demonstrate some of Floating Array's capabilities, no one else knew what to make of it. Their thoughts were interrupted when the medical office door swung open revealing Jaune in his white coat.

He grinned at the inquiring teenagers in front of him, placed one hand over his heart and bowed as he lifted his other arm. "May I present to you, Penny Polendina!"

On cue, Penny jumped out into view. "Salutations everyone!" She greeted them with a salute, "Thank you all so much for carrying me back to Beacon! I am terribly sorry for causing great anxiety amongst my peers, please accept my apologies."

"Penny! You're okay!" Ruby jumped from her seat, "B-but shouldn't you be resting?"

"Have you fully recovered?" Pyrrha asked in a concerned tone.

Half of the teenagers clamored towards Penny while the other half stayed back and watched from afar with relief.

Standing out of crowd was Weiss who greeted Jaune with a curtsy bow. "A pleasure to finally meet you in person, Jaune. My name is Weiss Schnee. I believe you are acquainted with my older sister, Winter."

Jaune returned her bow in-kind "The pleasure is all mine, Weiss. Your sister speaks of you every so often during our free time."

Yang glanced over at the two wondering if there's any history between them. Feeling a bit mischievous, she bounced over to Weiss only to be stopped by Blake.

"Don't. They look busy." Blake said to her partner with a wary tone.

"They're just talking to each other, Blakey."

"Don't call me that." She made a deadpan expression, "And that's exactly what I mean by 'busy.'"

A shadow loomed over the group, Glynda Goodwitch, deputy and combat instructor of Beacon Academy stood over the crowd in the hallway; looking unimpressed.

"Children." She said in such a professional tone that even Nora snapped to attention. "Please, do not clutter the hallway."

"Especially not in front of the medical office," Jaune added in meekly. "Sorry about that, Professor Goodwitch."

"Sorry, Professor Goodwitch." The students echoed.

Glynda pushed up her glasses and ushered them away to the amphitheater; all except Jaune. "Good, now come along. The announcing of the teams is about to begin." She raised an eyebrow at the blond boy, "Will you be attending, Mr. Arc?"

He nodded, "I wouldn't miss it for the world. Hang on, let me clean up my stuff before I get there."

"Very well, see you there shortly."

"Bye, Jaune! See you there!" Penny enthusiastically waved him goodbye.

"See you soon!" After waving them off, Jaune stepped back into the medical office and closed the door. "They'll seriously question me if I'm her personal nurse or caretaker."

The current medical teams were in another section of the academy tending the wounded leaving this office officially closed for the time being. It was nice of Glynda to reopen the medical office and help transport the tools needed to perform diagnosis.

Of course, it wasn't just Glynda that helped him.

Leaning on the solid walls, not far from him were Ciana and Verdell who had been assisting him in restructuring Penny's slightly warped internal workings. More specifically the magnetic shielding frames he had to develop for Penny to counteract magnetic source that tends to mess with her existence.

It could easily be passed off as damage received from the fall during her initiation, but there was no sign of damage related to that incident. If there were, any damages to the exoskeleton and false skin would have shown, but there were none.

There was one more possibility that Jaune could deduce from this: Pyrrha Nikos.

"Father, you're losing yourself in your thoughts. The announcing of the teams is about to start in a few minutes." The solidly built android with green highlights shook his creator, or 'father' gently. "And that faunus girl, Blake. She is wary of you."

"There are many people that would be wary of me, Verdell. For every good I supposedly do, there is another side to it." It was unfortunate, but with the business, political, and societal problems of Atlas, it was inevitable that some of his inventions would be used for less than savory things.

Like the implementation of the Cerberus series…

"That can wait for the time being." Ciana hastily gathered the tools and kickstarted the automated systems back into their compacted form. "Besides, she cannot do anything unsanctioned here in Beacon Academy."

It was a valid point to Verdell who conceded to his sister and started assisting in the cleanup. "Regardless, we should be vigilant."

"We're always vigilant, but yes. We should remain vigilant."

Nice to see his two 'children' agreeing with something every now and then.

/-/

"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark." Ozpin read out the names of the newly created team. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as… Team CRDL [Cardinal]. Lead by… Cardin Winchester!"

The audience applauded Team CRDL as they walked off the stage to make way for another team.

It's Penny and her teammates turn.

In the back of the crowd, Jaune was recording the entire ceremony for Dr. Polendina with his scroll. The main highlight, obviously; was about Penny but getting a reading of the preponderance of the students at Beacon Academy is a valid way of gauging the learning environment.

"I wonder who will be made the leader for the team Penny is on." Jaune mused on the possible candidates.

Nora Valkyrie was definitely out of the equation given her personality. Lie Ren is a decent candidate, silent and observant; he might be suitable for the role. That is if his silent personality doesn't get in the way. There's also Pyrrha Nikos, she was pretty capable of taking control of the situation at times.

To his side, Glynda fixed the alignment of her glasses. "It took the headmaster an hour to ponder on that subject."

Jaune looked at her with surprise, "Was it that difficult? How long does it normally take for the headmaster to designate a team leader?"

"The assignment of each team's leader normally takes a few seconds, maybe five minutes at most."

"Wow, this one must have taken a lot of consideration."

"You have no idea."

"I see… Well, who do you guys think will be the leader?" Jaune turned towards Ciana and Verdell.

"We'll refrain from making any assumptions as it'll be a pointless wager considering the announcement of their team leader will occur soon. Not to belittle you, father." Verdell replied coolly while keeping his sight on the stage.

"I am with Verdell on this one." Ciana's blue headlight blazed and dimmed. "It looks like we've been in an agreement for a while now."

Jaune chuckled, "That's a new record."

Penny, Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha arrived on stage, waiting for the official formation of their team.

"Penny Polendina, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as… Team PVLN [Pavilion]." As Ozpin named their team, Nora happily hugged Ren who responded awkwardly, looking a bit annoyed. "Lead by… Penny Polendina!"

This came as a huge surprise to Penny, Jaune, Ciana, and Verdell.

More so with Penny, but she recovered very quickly. "Oh my. It appears that I am the leader of Team PVLN now." She smiled and waved at the audience while hopping on her foot. "I won't let you down!"

"I'm sure you won't." Ozpin said with confidence, "Congratulations, young lady."

Her partner, Pyrrha Nikos happily smiled as she playfully nudged Penny on the ribs while Nora wrapped her arms around Penny's shoulder and cheered.

"Yes! My almighty sister has been bestowed with the title of the fearless leader! Fear us as we –"

Ren quickly placed a hand over Nora's mouth and dragged her off the stage. "Nora, not now. Please." He said with embarrassment. "Sorry about that, Professor Ozpin."

The headmaster responded with a kind smile as he watched them leave the stage.

On their way down the stage, Penny greeted Ruby and the two of them exchanged brief words before walking away in the opposite direction. Back in the crowds, Jaune was silently taking in what had happened.

Glynda looked a bit amused, "Is something the matter, Mr. Arc?"

"No, no. Just surprised that Professor Ozpin has decided to settle with Penny as Team PLVN leader. At the same time, it shouldn't really be much of a shock to me if you take Penny's processing capabilities and split decision making into account." But when it comes to leadership, however… Jaune wasn't so certain where Penny is on that. Regardless, he wasn't worried. Leadership is learned and nurtured, which is something Penny exceeds at.

She nodded, "And it's those qualities that Ozpin decided to assign the leadership role to her. Of course, there are many things that Penny could work on, but I believe she's in good hands."

"And finally, Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long."

Glynda and Jaune swiveled their attention back on the amphitheater stage.

"Looks like we're near the end of this," Jaune said.

"The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as… Team RWBY [Ruby]. Lead by… Ruby Rose."

There was a sense of bewilderment between Ruby and Weiss as the latter glanced at her partner and leader with shock before snapping back to attention. Meanwhile, the former had her mouth opened and closed like a dying fish.

As for Yang, her face was brimming with pride as she hugged her sister. "I'm so proud of you!"

The audience applauded the last batch of the team, before going silent; waiting for the next step after the formation of their team. It was time for the faculty members to be prepared for the following day where the freshman would be attending their classes.

"Let's go, Mr. Arc. We'll have a busy day ahead of us." Glynda motioned Jaune and his two androids to follow her. "But first, we must address Team PVLN about their leader."

"Yeah… Here comes the anxiety."

/-/

Moonlight poured through the warehouse windows, lighting rows and rows of empty shelves that no longer served any purpose. A lone metal table and a map of Vale taped to the wall was situated near the end of the warehouse, brightly illuminated by the moonlight.

Roman Torchwick stood in the middle of it all, staring intently at the map in front of him while listening on his scroll, receiving his next instruction. With a sigh, he placed it down on the table and took out a cigar.

His hand hovered over his lighter but decided to test out his new toys from the previous heists. The black glove Roman wore dimmed with red veins as he produced a tiny floating flame from his forefinger and lit his cigar.

"I must say, Dust infused accessories isn't my thing, but this little guy really lets my mind work its magic on these things." The thief adjusted the earpiece wrapped gently, but firmly around his left ear. A transparent screen appeared in front of Roman's eyes before flickering away. "How much do you think these things are worth on the market?" Roman asked a White Fang grunt.

The grunt merely shrugged, rolling a crate full of Dust over to Roman.

"Me neither."

Roman grinned with merriment as his black gloves glowed purple. With a wave of his hand, the thief sent a wad of Liens spiraling towards the White Fang grunt and stacked it; letting the cash hover in front of the grunt who accepted the Lien without a word. Swiping at the crate with his other hand, Roman snapped open the lid from the crate revealing a set of neatly cut and refined Dust.

"Let's see, let's see." Roman inspected the Ice Dust in his hand, the interface from his earpiece flickered on again, running its analysis as he let the Ice Dust float in the air. "Convenient, this little darling is. It even tells me the quality and estimated the amount of usage from this one." He let the Ice Dust fall back into his hand, placing it back into the case. "Still… We're going to need more men for this operation."

* * *

**Pardon my grammar.**

* * *

**Finally get to see more of Penny and Dr. Polendina... Time to see which direction I can take this story with the upcoming volume.**

**I have several concepts on my profile, feel free to check them out!**


	9. Chapter 7

**I had troubles writing this chapter.**

**Pardon my grammar.**

* * *

**Chapter 7:**

"So, any ideas about why the headmaster is calling us to his office?" Nora asked her teammates. They were just about to leave the amphitheater but were stopped by Professor Glynda Goodwitch who told them to come to the headmaster's office. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"We'll see when we get there, Nora."

Team PVLN was partially quiet throughout their walk towards the headmaster's office, a few snippets here and there. Penny, on the other hand, was notable quiet and less cheery than she was a few minutes ago.

Her partner, Pyrrha; shared a worried look with her teammates, "Is something wrong, Penny?"

Penny shook her head, "Don't worry. Hic! I am just anxious about the upcoming meeting with the headmaster!"

"Do you need a drink?"

Penny waved her hand with a smile, "That won't be necessary."

The rest of Team PVLN looked at each other, then back at Penny who seemed lost in her thoughts.

"If there's anything wrong… Let us know. We're a team now." Ren said softly, wincing a bit as Nora elbowed him on the ribs for not saying 'please let us know'.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me." But deep in the back of Penny's mind, she truly wonders if they'll accept her for what she is. She discarded those thoughts and braced herself as they entered the elevator.

/-/

Jaune was silently pondering, restlessly pacing around in Ozpin's office. His left arm was crossed over his torso while his right hand was on his chin, the posture of an intellectual. Posture aside, Jaune was just as worried as Penny over one thing.

What if they don't accept her?

Penny may be an android, but she has a soul, feelings, and dreams. She's a person. Yet… Do androids dream? Not the ambition or aspiration ones. The ones where you get visions when you fall asleep. He glanced at Ciana and Verdell who returned his stare.

"Is something wrong, father?" Verdell asked.

It wouldn't hurt to ask, "Do you guys dream when you're in sleep mode?"

They went silently for a moment before answering, "No, it would seem that we do not."

"Taking your mind off of things, Jaune?" General Ironwood asked lightheartedly. He was on the call screen projected from Ozpin's desk and is here to do most of the explaining on the non-confidential stuff regarding Penny. She is Atlas secret project after all.

"Yup. My mind tends to wander, like Dr. Polendina's… Speaking of the doctor, I heard he's been called up to the council. What are they bothering him this time?"

Ironwood raised an eyebrow, "You haven't heard?"

"I don't think so…?" Jaune replied hesitantly.

"Dr. Polendina was called up to give his opinion and mapping of Atlas's newest agenda. To summarize, the Atlesian Council is planning to assist the kingdoms in expanding their territories by utilizing the military androids and technology that has been massed produced over these past years. To help the other kingdoms reclaim their lands that were lost during the Great War, an apology of sorts, so to speak."

The headmaster of Beacon Academy lowered his mug, "And grandiosely advertise all Atlesian companies who will be funding and supplying this 'reclamation'."

"Correct." The Atlesian general sighed while he rubbed his head. "Those business lobbyists, good gods..."

Jaune looked a bit guilty at that. This technological kick-off was done partially by him, which made him one of the people responsible for the mess back at Atlas. Yes, his father did say make Ironwood's life difficult, but he was certainly joking about it. Extra paperwork was one thing, truck dumping it and making the man schedule important calls and meetings are another.

"Hang in there, James." Glynda told the general with a smirk, "At least now know how I truly feel when I have to clean up Ozpin's mess."

"I resent that remark, Glynda," Ozpin responded with a deadpanned expression before chuckling of himself. Everyone joined in on the laugh, stopping when the elevator door pinged.

Time to explain the true nature of Penny to her teammates.

"Take a deep breath, Mr. Arc," Glynda instructed him.

He complied, taking a deep breath and letting it out. "Thank you, Professor Goodwitch."

It was very touching that Jaune was deeply concerned about Penny's acceptance even if he won't be in the spotlight as much. It's Penny and Ironwood who will be doing most of the explanation, not Jaune.

"Come in." Ozpin gave Team PVLN permission to enter his office.

Four teenagers entered the clockwork office, staring in slight awe at the glass walls, floors, and rotating gears. Nora's eyes lingered on the two androids she saw on the cafeteria screen yesterday. They were much larger and intimating in person.

"Nice robots." She said with a grin.

Jaune grinned back, "Thank you. They mean everything to me."

"Team PVLN. I know the day has been long and eventful, but please bear with us for the time being. This is James Ironwood, General of Atlas Military and Headmaster of Atlas Academy. He will explain why we've gathered you here today. I'll leave it to you now, General Ironwood."

Penny, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora stood with their back straight; giving the Atlesian general their full attention.

"Thank you, Professor Ozpin." He cleared his throat, trying to find a way to approach this. "I apologize for this sudden interruption of your day, especially right after the initiation, but this is of great importance."

Without uttering a word, Penny walked forward.

"Penny?" Pyrrha whispered with a frown, what has gotten into her partner?

Failing to find a way to let this down gently Ironwood decided to do it the most straightforward way. "I will be blunt here. Penny Polendina is an android." Ironwood flatly stated as Penny's back hatch opened, revealing her metallic inner workings and Floating Array. "The first synthetic person capable of generating an aura."

Even though Verdell is technically the first 'synthetic person' capable of generating an aura, Penny is the first person to obtain one by a different method. As agreed upon, they did not disclose that sort of information. It was classified anyway.

Silence.

Penny hesitantly turned back to her teammates while clasping her hand over her chest, looking very anxious. She felt someone rub her back. Penny glanced back to see Jaune supporting her with a smile.

Pyrrha opened her mouth. "Uh…"

"This is not an elaborate joke, I assure you. It may feel surreal," Ozpin addressed Team (P)VLN who currently looked stunned, "but we are telling you this because –"

"That's… So cool!" Nora squealed with glee as she shot towards Penny and gave her a hug. "I always wanted a superpowered robot sister!"

Jaune backed out just in time to avoid the death hug that could only be survived by Penny and his androids.

"Nora! Don't interrupt the headmaster." Ren quickly went after his partner and placed a hand over her mouth before she could sprout off her nonsense. "I am so sorry, Professor Ozpin."

Looking amused, Ozpin merely waved his hand in dismissal of the interruption while Glynda wasn't so keen on that but kept it to herself for the time being.

"You… Y-You're… Taking this extraordinarily well." Penny stammered with shock. She was expecting a more negative reaction.

"It is a bit of a shocker." Pyrrha nodded, uncertain on what to feel or say. However, one thing she can say for certain… The emotions Penny displayed and the anxious looked; those were not faked. Penny has feelings no doubt about it.

"It's a lot to take in."

"And it's cool!"

"But like I said before, we're a team now. Android, faunus, or human… It doesn't matter. You have a soul, you can feel. The expressions you made earlier, it's impossible to fake. You're you." Ren frowned, "That sounded way better in my head."

Nora giggled, "I think that's the most Ren had said since we got here."

"I agree with what Ren said. You're a person, you have emotions, a soul." Pyrrha looked like she wanted to add more but couldn't come up with anything except this cheesy line. "You're my partner."

Verdell walked behind Jaune and whispered to his ear, "It looks like we were worried for nothing, at least outwardly." They watched Pyrrha awkwardly joining in, trying to find the right moment to hug her partner while Nora started babbling her usual nonsense. "Though two of her teammates will have to get used to it; Pyrrha and Ren. They appear to be spiritualistic compared to the rest."

Most people on Remnant may no longer be as religious as they once were, but even the most secular person can agree that the soul is considered sacred. Experimenting, playing, with it… Such an act is considered blasphemous. It's just wrong to them.

"I'm sure they will." Jaune smiled at Team PVLN. Everything seems to be working out as Pyrrha said something to Penny that seemed to renew the android girl with vigor.

"Oh! Oh, you're the best teammates anyone could have!" Penny grabbed her teammates and hugged them tightly causing everyone to winced as Penny managed to squeeze them into a single hug.

And crushed them.

"Um… Penny?"

"Yes, Jaune?" Penny tilted her head.

Jaune pointed at her twitching teammates, "I think you're crushing them."

Her eyes widened and Penny instantly released them in a fit of panic, "Oh, I am so sorry! Are you alright?"

"T-that's my s-s-sister…" Nora rasped her 'last' breath before passing out.

Glynda gave an exasperated sigh, "I'll take care of this." She raised her riding crop, the Disciplinarian, and lifted the fallen members of Team PVLN with her semblance. "Miss Polendina, please control your strength. Such recklessness is detrimental to others, including your teammates. And I will remind you, what was said in this room must not be shared with anyone else! Understood? I will relay the same order to your teammates once they regain consciousness. Now come along. I will show you your dorm room, and all the medical offices in this academy…"

The remaining people in the office awkwardly glanced at each other.

Jaune rubbed the back of his head, "Well… That was a thing."

"Yes, and this meeting was cut short." Ciana said as a matter-of-factly, "Very short."

Verdell nodded, "And we skipped our introduction."

Still, there was a bright side to all of this. Penny's teammate has seemingly accepted her, and the headmasters now have extra time since this meeting has ended abruptly.

"Glynda will handle the rest that we were supposed to go over," Ozpin assured them. He has absolute confidence in her management when it comes to the students and secrets. "Now then, I believe we have another agenda we must get too?"

The mood in the room instantly went heavy.

It wasn't made known to the public, but it was made known to law enforcement and the councils. The theft of Atlesian military hardware.

Ironwood looked uncomfortable as he transferred the report to their scrolls. "A few days ago, several of our transports has been hijacked by a man named Roman Torchwick." A mugshot of a slightly bruised man with orange-hair was displayed on the screen. "And he was not alone. Someone aided him behind the scene, disabling our security system and safety protocols." Another report detailed the failing of the security system. "Unfortunately, that includes the failsafe mechanism installed inside the hardware."

"… Was anybody hurt?" Jaune asked.

"There were no casualties. However, several guards were injured, minored injuries."

"That's a relief."

"Indeed." Ozpin sorted out the reports on his screen, his cane was resting on the side. "And I assume you will be making necessary adjustments?"

"We will be reviewing our current security in place as well as strengthening it. With this incident in hand, the council will not have a choice but to pressure the companies to install more robust failsafe devices to their products." It was extremely vexing that the council would only act under certain circumstances. Ironwood may be part of the council, but he and others like him were vastly outnumbered by those that had been completely swayed by corporate interest.

Searching through the report, Jaune's heart sank as he came across reports detailing the military hardware that was stolen. "They took the Cerberus series, the Atlesian Angel, and Atlesian Valkyrja." He couldn't help but scowl at the losses. The models taken were of his designs as well! "Those androids and mechs are devastating if used correctly."

"And are now possibly running loose in Vale," Ironwood said in a low tone.

There was a brief moment of silence before Ozpin interrupted their brooding. "We must not feel down in such times of dire needs. Instead, we must stay determined and mindful of what is to come."

"Does that include foiling the dastardly plans of our charming thief, Roman Torchwick?" Jaune slyly grinned.

"Naturally, but you will have better things to do Mr. Arc."

"Leave this to us and the council, Jaune."

"Got it." He was outvoted in this matter, so he might as well concede to their decision. But he still has a question to ask. "So, um… Is Vale well equipped to tackle this matter?"

"Vale is well prepared to handle this matter." Ironwood assured the young man, "A selected few of your Electromagnetic Pulse Rifle designs, the Gauss 6 rifle and Volt Arms 22 I believe; has been the standard issue for Vale's police and self-defense forces. Roman and his associates will not be getting far should they decide to use our cargo."

"Those rifles are utilized by a specialized task force, not the entirety of Vale's law enforcement and militias." Ozpin corrected the general, "The training of handling such weaponry is much more extensive." He remembered the time where an EMP Rifle shut down an entire electrical grid due to the trainers underestimating its capacity. "The rifles may be practically harmless against people, but against technology Dust appliances…"

"It can be devastating." Jaune nodded in agreement, "I designed those rifles when I started building the later generations of the ACE Units. The prototypes from generation 2 and 5 had… The tendencies to go haywire." And boy, was Winter not amused by his 'inconsiderate' test runs. "I needed a way for the prototypes to go down easily and temporarily without frying their systems or damaging them extensively."

"That must be an amusing story to tell." Ozpin paused and curiously glanced at Ciana and Verdell, "Out of morbid curiosity, what would happen if those rifles were used against you two?"

"Those rifles are nothing more than glorified stun guns to us, Professor Ozpin. Penny included." Ciana tapped on her exoskeleton, "Even if the rifles are set to max charged, we'll recover quickly if not, be completely immune to the effects due to the countermeasures father has enacted in our frames."

Ozpin relaxed back in his chair, "I see. It seems that we went off-topic. James, anything else?"

"I will provide more information as the investigation continues, but as of now that is all I have to say."

"Very well." He turned towards Jaune, "Is there anything else you wish to ask before we let you go, Mr. Arc? I understand that it'll be a busy day tomorrow."

"So, I was told by Professor Goodwitch." Jaune chuckled, shaking his head. "But yeah, I don't have anything else to say."

"Very well, you are free to return to your duties."

"Thank you, have a good evening Professor Ozpin, General Ironwood. Oh, please send my regards to Dr. Polendina and Specialist Winter for me, General Ironwood." He saluted the general on screen.

Ironwood smiled, "I will give them my regards. Have a good evening, Jaune. May we talk again soon."

They gave their farewells and waited silently as Jaune left the office along with Ciana and Verdell. Once they were out of sight and heading down to the lower floors, the headmasters glanced at each other; a knowing look crossed their face.

"I presume we both know who had a hand in aiding Torchwick with his recent strings of robbery."

"Arthur Watts," Ironwood growled at the mention of the disgraced Atlesian scientist and doctor. "He had his sights on Jaune ever since his debut in the scientific community."

Increased frequency of cyber-attacks and in a few extreme cases, attempted kidnapping of the young Arc. It's the reason why Atlas has been ramping up its securities, but Watts has always found a way to exploit their systems.

"I see." Arthur was an elusive fellow, having been off their radar for decades now. They will remain vigilant in tracking down the disgraced scientist, but they have more pressing matters to get to. "On a similar note, is Jaune aware what his aura research is truly being used for?"

"No, he does not."

"Reasonable… What do you make of his Jaune's semblance? Do you believe it'll resolve the matter of our Autumn friend?" The two men continued to converse in secrecy, planning their next move against the queen.

/-/

The hallways were mostly empty as the first-year students are either in their dorm rooms or roaming around the recreation facilities. As for the older students, they were either watching over the freshmen or lounging around the campus.

Just a typical day at Beacon Academy, so it seems. Jaune will be quite busy tomorrow. Forecasting some of Beacon's inventory needs, setting up meetings with manufacturers, ordering parts, setting up the mobile factory, building robots/mechs, and helping the faculty with some of their lessons. Busy, busy. Oh, and attending some of their classes as well.

"Hey! You there! Blond guy!" Someone down the hallway shouted at him. Jaune, Ciana, and Verdell turned around, a girl with brown hair, dark sunglasses, and a black beret waved at him. "Sup, nice outfit and androids."

Ciana and Verdell remained silent to keep up the façade. Come to think of it, they're not really social outside their own little circle. He might have to get them to interact with Team PVLN now that they know their little secret.

Is this how a typical greeting goes? He's been wrapped up in Atlesian culture for too long. "Thanks, Miss…?"

"Coco Adel. Don't call me Miss Adel, it makes me feel old." The girl waved her hand at three other students. "Come on you guys, don't be shy. Especially you, Velvet. You wanted to meet him."

A rabbit faunus girl, who also had brown hair, looked flustered at Coco's last statement, fiercely shaking her head. "Don't put it like that! I only wanted his insights on my camera!"

"Yeah, don't take it as a confession." Coco snorted.

"Camera?" Jaune looked confused.

"It's also my weapon." Velvet corrected.

"Oh? How interesting." Wondering how a camera could be utilized as a weapon outside of disorientating an opponent, or an impractical bludgeoning tool.

"Going fast here, bud. Let's start introducing ourselves before we move on. I'm Coco." She started to introduce her teammates. "This big guy is Yatsuhashi,"

"Greetings."

"Fox,"

"Hey…"

"And Velvet."

"Hi there."

"We're Team CFVY and I'm their leader." The fashionista lowered her shades at him, "Come on now, introduce yourself."

"I'm Jaune Arc. Head of the Technology Department believe or not"

Team CFVY blinked with Coco's shades sliding down a few inches. "Damn, I guess Professor Port wasn't lying when he said you're the youngest staff here. Head of the Technology Department? Damn. I heard you're stepping in for all the missing IT guys."

"Didn't we used to have a sizable IT support staff in Beacon?" Fox curiously asked.

Velvet nodded, "We did, but I heard most of them transferred out to other academies, mainly to Haven for some reason."

"Weird."

"Sounds about right. So, what's this about a camera weapon?"

Coco pushed Velvet forward, "Well, Velvet's little camera here is similar to that Virtual Training Simulator thing that Professor Port is always going on about. It can create hard light copies, but it has a few problems of its own. He suggested that we talked to you since you've worked with similar technological weaponry, whatever that means."

Having heard of Velvet's woes, Professor Port recommended her to see Jaune who has a notable portfolio of interesting and technological prototype weapons.

"Really? That sounds cool. How does it work?" He said pointedly at Velvet.

Velvet smiled while carefully eyeing the androids standing next to him. "My camera allows me to copy a weapon when I take a snapshot of it. I can then create a light copy of the weapon." She showed him her camera, Anesidora. "But… It does have some drawbacks."

"Every time she uses a copy, the light copy weapon is gone and can't be used again unless she has multiple copies or snaps another shot of that weapon." Coco explained, "She has to build up her arsenal if she wants to use her weapon constantly."

"And the light copies have a time limit before they expired. I was wondering if you know a way to fix all or lessen the drawbacks." Velvet continued.

While Velvet's weapon sounds amazing, the drawback is the high Dust upkeep and duration of her light copied weapons. Very intriguing… Jaune might learn something from this faunus girl's unique weapon. It will be an interesting side project as well.

"I think you came to the right guy, follow me."

Her expression brightened, "Thank you!"

"It's no biggie." Jaune waved it off. It was nice to socialize and help people here and there without any reason. "By the way, how do you even manage to wield all the weapons you copied? That must have taken some serious training to pull off, or a semblance to pair up." Hey, that rhymes sort of.

"I was trained to wield a wide variety of weapons." Velvet helpfully answered, "And my semblance allows me to mimic the exact moves of a person to some degree, but not their semblances or capabilities that are a direct result of their semblance."

"You should see her during combat training. She thrashes just about everyone, stylishly." Coco smirked as she twirled her purse.

A semblance that allows her to mimic the exact moves of others, huh? Jaune wondered if she can mimic the vast light bots his VTS had at its disposal. "That's very impressive." He said earnestly, "I think you guys might like what the VTS has in store for you. Especially for you, Velvet."

* * *

**Pardon my grammar.**

* * *

**It was hard to find a decent reaction to write out for Team PVLN. I mean, how do you react if you were in there shoes?**

**Also, the conversations. Hurr… I may need more literature references. **

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**Another note: I have some concepts posted on my profile, check them out!**


	10. Chapter 8

**IMPORTANT!**

_**This chapter is a bit boring. Some info dump as well. **_

**Next chapter will have real combat, some androids are showing up, Team CFVY, VTS Room demonstration... **

**Still feeling light headed, numb all over.**

* * *

**Pardon my grammar.**

**If you see any mistakes, let me know. I will likely fixed them unless I intentionally wrote it that way.**

* * *

**Chapter 8:**

He can't believe he forgot about this little guy. Such an unforgivable sin Jaune had committed. For all its flaws, Jaune is proud of what he had created.

Yes, it's one of his earliest creations – The Light Intelligence Spheroid Projector, aka 'LISP'.

The exact same robot/drone that would eventually lead to the development of the training solid light bots in the VTS. Funny how far off development could branch out. One moment you're working with a spherical drone that projects solid light, next then you know you're diving deep into 3D modeling and programming for a combat simulation system.

LISP could be described as a medium-sized, gray spherical camera with several optical lenses dotting its entire body. It was designed to be a dynamic training android that utilizes hard light projection – which acts as a 'shell' for its core.

To clarify, the gray spherical camera is the main body – the core of its existence. The solid light body the core projects is its 'shell' and has no impact on the core should it be destroyed aside from Dust consumption. It could project a shell of any shape or form. Grimm, people, other androids, hybrids… The list goes on. LISP also possesses a wide variety of combat modules, giving it a dynamic combat system to pair with its projected shell.

That said, for all its impressive capabilities, there is just one issue LISP suffers from. It has a high Dust consumption rate.

"Oh, how could I forget about you?" Jaune hugged the metal orb. "I am so glad Velvet's camera reminded me of you."

Velvet weapon is called Anesidora, and it is a work of art. The insides of her weapon contain a vast variety of miniature parts. A colorful, carefully crafted device with an extremely complicated, but durable workings.

He can understand why Velvet came to him seeking advice on improving it. She may know Anesidora better than anyone else, but she can't refine it beyond her understanding. That's why professions exist. Anyway, there's always room for improvement – they've mapped out their plans for tinkering with Anesidora for the following weeks.

A memory card to resolve her single-use issue, a compressed Dust cartridge system and filter to address the duration of her weapon copies… As simple as it may sound, they cannot simply glue it on there. That's not how things work. They'll have to reallocate and adjust everything.

"I'll work on you later," Jaune said to LISP, intending to give it the upgrade it deserves.

Time to get back to one of his projects.

His high priority project, the other ACE Unit, Snow Angel, still has problems he wasn't able to work out. He forwarded the issue for Dr. Polendina and his co-workers to review, but in the meantime, he's got other personal projects to fall back on.

Like assembling another Arc Knight.

Okay, he really needs to find a new name for his personal combat androids. Arc Knight sounds very egotistic and that's the last thing he wanted people to think of him. Not that it's stopping them, but the efforts to say otherwise counts. Somewhat.

"Assembly completed." The computer of his mobile workstation announced. The assembly robotic arms powered down, allowing the miniature conveyor belt to move the exoskeleton closer to Jaune. "Installation: Incomplete. Missing highlighted units."

"Yeah. Still figuring out which Dust to use for the aerial propulsion system. Wind, Fire, or Gravity Dust?"

He couldn't find a proper installation to put into this Arc Knight. This one is a little bit special; it has a small jetpack for increased mobility. The problem is Jaune doesn't know which Dust to use. Depending on which Dust he chooses; it should have a corresponding wing component designed for that specific Dust if he wants to achieve maximum effectiveness.

It's such a little thing, yet he can't help but be undetermined about it! He was thinking about asking Ciana, Verdell, maybe even Penny and her friends. But Penny and her friends have classes and homework to do, so he shouldn't be bothering them.

As for Ciana and Verdell, they're currently sparring against each other in the VTS Room.

All-day in fact.

"Welp, I guess I should take a small break." He's been talking with several cybersecurity representatives to schedule a security analysis of Beacon's network and it took him from nearly the whole day to sort things out. The time zone is really hindering his sleep schedule. "I'll be in for a long sleep tonight." Jaune yawned and stretched, "Time to head out and see what everyone is up too in this fine evening."

/-/

Professor Port's word echoed in Weiss's mind.

It made her think about what she wanted to be. A huntress who wants to right the wrongs of her father's action and restore the reputation of the Schnee Dust Company, along with the Schnee family name.

She wanted to prove to the world that she's not the same as her father. She wanted everyone to know that she's not perfect, she did not have everything. She may have many things, garner the best tutors – But all of those often felt empty. There is something lacking that she could feel ever since her mother neglected them and started drinking.

Weiss is not perfect.

She never was. Her life is isn't as nice as many thought it would be.

And she felt very bad chewing out her team leader who simply wanted to support her.

Weiss steadily walked and exited the balcony. As she entered the school building, a male figure nearly came crashing into her.

"Whoa! Sorry about that, Miss Schnee." He apologized for nearly bumping into her. "I have been working all morning till now. I'm a bit tired."

She recognized him. Jaune Arc. An enigmatic figure, the boy who jumpstarted Atlas's technological revolution. And her sister's co-worker or something along those lines.

There's a rumor that Jaune is hiding more technological marvels, a treasure of blueprints waiting to be revealed. Designs of implements that test the limits of Atlas's technological capabilities. Inventions that can change the world and cause upheavals.

Those gossips might hold some merit. Some of it was already happening.

"That's understandable." Weiss coolly eyed him with a small smile.

"How are you this fine evening?"

But now's not the right time.

Her eyes shifted slightly, "It's been going… Sort of well." She wanted to change the subject, maybe ask about her sister. "I may have gone off with a rocky start with my partner."

"I see. I'm sure it'll work out."

"I'm certain it will." Weiss paused and looked him straight in the eyes. From the letters between her and Winter; her older sister seems to think highly of Jaune. Although she did mention he is a bit of a nuisance at times. "Can I ask you something?"

"Ask ahead. I'll try to give you my best answer."

"It's… Not really a question, but more of your thoughts on the matter." She gathered up her thoughts into something conceivable. "I've studied and trained, and frankly I thought I deserved better. I thought… I should be made the leader." Weiss puts emphasis on the past tense, "But I understand that not everything can go my way, so… I'm trying to be the best person I can be and not the best leader."

Professor Port was right. She was used to getting everything she wanted. Not entirely. There are some things she can't get no matter how much she wanted it. After hearing what Professor Port thought of her attitude and manner, it made Weiss rethink about herself.

It was a wake-up slap.

It was also refreshing, getting an outlook from someone's else perspective. Someone entirely different who's not some businessman or an upper-class snob. Or a terrorist, or a protester...

Jaune had a thoughtful look.

"I see. I might be using some military terminology and jargon here, so let me know if you're unfamiliar and I can explain it to you." Jaune continued, "In Atlas Military, the non-commissioned officers earned their positions through years of service, training, and experiences."

Weiss silently listened.

"Compared to the newly graduated commissioned officers, who are the NCOs superiors – They often don't have the same level of experience and knowledge their NCOs subordinates possess." Jaune widely smiled, "Part of the senior NCOs job is to mentor the junior officers, give them guidance." He opened his arms, "The junior officer may not always defer to them, but simply knowing that they are there to help them… Well, I think you get what I am saying."

"I do." Weiss nodded, eyes shining brightly.

"Remember, the leader is nothing without a team. Everyone plays a very important role in a team. This is something General Ironwood and Specialist Winter believes."

It was quickly growing dark, and the school's curfew will be in effect. Weiss will need to return to her dorm soon.

She bowed, "Thank you very much. If you excuse me, I must return to my dorm before curfew is enforced."

And she needed to make up with her team leader.

/-/

After a few exchanges, Jaune waved Weiss goodbye and stood there for a few seconds wondering what he was doing before his conversation with Weiss. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt someone suddenly came up from behind him.

Jaune lunge forward and sharply turned back, relaxing when it was just Ozpin.

The headmaster smiled, "I see you are vigilant of your surroundings. A good trait to possess."

"Professor Ozpin. Sorry about that, I had an associate who would hit me in the back of the head if I didn't react on time." That associate is named Winter Schnee and she would take every pleasure in whacking him on the head if he didn't move quick enough. "What can I do for you?"

"I simply wanted to thank you for your hard work. From my understanding, the meeting with our vendors started early in the morning and ended a while ago."

"Oh, that was nothing." Jaune straightens his posture, "I mean, uh, you're welcome. Just doing my job, sir."

"You don't need to be too formal with me." He chuckled, "Are you looking for something?"

"I was just taking a walk. Maybe ask around and see what kind of Dust would fit best for an aerial android I am making."

"I see." Ozpin absentmindedly hummed. It seems he had something to say but is reluctant to share it. "If you excuse me, I have to get back to my office. Have a good night, Mr. Arc."

Jaune's stomach growled.

He looked sheepishly and rubbed his head, "I hadn't had dinner today."

Ozpin paused and cranked his neck towards him, "The cafeteria is about to close, Mr. Arc. I suggest you hurry."

/-/

"Don't hide behind your shield, little sister!"

"Hit the showers!"

Watching them spar is enchanting. At least, that's what Jaune thinks of their combat performances while he finishes his dinner. Like most hunters, Ciana and Verdell designed their own weapons to suit their fighting styles. They had their preferences, and Jaune ensured that he augmented them with the best material and tools at his disposal to meet their needs.

To start off:

Ciana is a few inches shorter than Verdell. Sleeker, yet denser than her older robotic brother. Stronger than Verdell and possessing the speed that falls a just bit short compared to his, Ciana could be described as a juggernaut. Yet, she does not possess the same flexibility as Verdell, losing to him in agility and dexterity.

Verdell, on the other hand, is quite tall and solidly built. He may not be as strong as his younger sister, but he is nonetheless strong. Combined with his semblance, Momentum Reduction with his nimbleness and you have a dangerous lightning bruiser that can deliver powerful strikes with blistering speed.

Their weapons blurred, glinting in the air, sending showers of sizzling sparks as metal struck against one another. Verdell's halberd hooked the edge of her Ciana's shield, dragging it down and lining up a perfect shot at Ciana herself.

Ciana quickly slammed her spear onto the shaft of Verdell's halberd, throwing his aim off. She then detached her shotgun from her shield and leveled it at his head. Shockwave rippled through the air where Verdell's head would have been, ducking in a split second.

"You've become predictable." Verdell mocked, only to eat his word when Ciana dropped both of her weapons and grabbed his weapon by the shaft.

"Look in a mirror. You bluster heap of scrap."

Her fist shot out, aimed straight at his torso. Verdell released his halberd and raised both arms while jumping back to further minimize the impact. The sound of metal pummeling into each other was dull; Verdell had used his semblance to reduce the impact.

It ensued into a brief brawl as both androids kicked and punched each other before retrieving their weapons from the ground and pulling back. They circled around each other, shifting back and forth, looking for an opening to exploit.

Jaune narrowed his eyes as he finally got a better look at the condition of their weapon. There were dents everywhere, and he was fairly certain their weapons weren't as beat up like that yesterday. They've must have fighting at full strength since early morning. Jaune wasn't certain what set it off, but it could have been good old sibling rivalry or something very trivial.

"I think that's enough you two!" He shouted, "Save it for tomorrow! Look at your weapons, they're getting worn down."

"Yes, father." They backed down and glanced at their weapons, finally noticing the dents.

"I would appreciate it if you stop denting the spike of my halberd."

"And I would appreciate it if you stop chipping my shield, but we both know we can't do that when we're fighting seriously, now can we?"

"You're intentionally doing it just to irritate me."

"You cannot prove that."

"You did not deny that."

"My lab you two. Let's get your weapon fixed for combat lessons tomorrow."

The first-year students will finally be able to fight during combat lessons. Glynda had to make sure that the freshmen know the rules and standards of the class. Tomorrow is where the real lessons start. The class will start off with some sparring between students before diving into more team-oriented lessons.

Oh, and they will be facing off against his robotic 'children.'

Apparently, Glynda felt that it would do her students best if they fought against a superior opponent. Something about students getting too overconfident just because they passed the initiation and such. She intends Ciana or Verdell to knock them down a peg just to teach them otherwise.

The students won't be realizing that his 'children' have auras. They'll simply lie – telling them that these androids are outfitted with expensive forcefield generators similar to the ACE Units. This means that the students will assume them to be inferior opponents and promptly get their butts kicked. That, in turn, will mostly humiliate them and make them train and study harder.

At least that's how Jaune interprets it. Glynda can be a bit sadistic at times…

"Did you guys spent all day fighting each other nonstop?" While these two were fighting all day, Jaune was stuck talking with business representatives from different time zones all day.

"We took short breaks to replenish our ammo and Dust."

"Which means you guys have been fighting all day."

Both androids glanced at each other before turning to Jaune.

"Yes." They replied simultaneously.

He locked down the VTS Room and returned to the lab to repair their weapons. Harold Mulberry, the teacher who teaches Weapon Crafting and Upkeep, really helped organized their repair shop. In return, Jaune allowed him access to it. Some of the newer machinery and tools Jaune had weren't available to the public yet.

Jaune's eye shifted over towards the unfinished android he was building.

"Speaking of Dust, what kind of Dust should I use for this guy's aerial propulsion system?" He walked over towards the unfinished Arc Knight and had the platform rotate the android onto its back. "I'm stuck with Fire, Wind, and Gravity Dust. What do you guys think?"

Verdell laid his weapon onto the repair table, green headlights flickering as he thought about his answers. "Fire Dust is cheap and easy to come by but can be more dangerous than the rest of the other two in certain scenarios such as using it in a flammable area."

"Wind Dust is safer but requires a hefty concentrated amount if you want to lift something as heavy like your personal androids." Ciana mused.

"If you want something to take off easily, Gravity Dust is the right one to go by seeing how nearly all airships use it. However, Gravity Dust is starting to become much more expensive." Verdell finished.

"Yup. That's why I'm stuck right now. If I choose Fire Dust, I'll have to create and install the wing components that are heat resistant and durable." Jaune listed off by counting with his fingers. "For Wind Dust, I need to make the storage area larger to hold the concentrated Wind Dust while trying to make it as light as possible. Lastly, Gravity Dust… Have you seen the prices?! They've gone up like four times the normal price!"

Ciana and Verdell ignored their father's ranting as they got to work on repairing their weapons.

"He's gotten livelier."

"Winter is no longer around to curb his enthusiasm. I say it's nice to see him lively without her overbearing presence."

"I mean yeah! I get it. New airships and heavy appliances are getting manufactured and developed at a supposedly unprecedented rate, but what the heck?! Don't go bumping up the price four times the usual amount just because you put in extra effort into mining the deposits! Don't be that greedy!"

There is a large natural Gravity Dust deposit along the south shore of Lake Matsu in Mistral. The SDC and several other smaller companies have been granted rights to mine the deposits and they've been pushing the price up, citing 'difficulties' and 'high costs.'

Bullshit! The technology and weaponry utilized for all mining operations there had no problem dealing with the dangerous Grimm and terrain. You could argue costs, but Jaune had seen their financial statement, which General Ironwood provided, and it blatantly shows otherwise.

Jaune caught himself when he heard the analysis equipment completing its run.

"Our weapons sustained minor damage. It'll be a quick fix, perhaps an hour or so." Verdell picked up a power tool and got to work.

"Easy for you to say…" Ciana grumbled.

Oh, Ruby would have loved to be here to witness this.

Verdell's halberd is called Waypoint.

It's a simplistic looking spiked halberd that's also a high caliber rifle. The shaft isn't linear – slightly crooked around the shaft's rear for the firing mechanism, which gives it an exotic look. The curved nature of the shaft and Verdell's flexible joints allows him to maneuver Waypoint in ways not many can imitate.

Onto Ciana, she probably has the most weapons out of anyone in the entire school.

First off, Ciana's shear-like spear is called Severance.

It functions like an ordinary spear, but its spearhead has a few surprises of its own. The most obvious is the blade could open like a pair of scissors or garden shears. In its 'shear' mode, it has a thermal cutter which allows Ciana to cut through tougher materials.

Another weapon Ciana wields is her ballistic shield and mounted shotgun, Prideful Ward. Prideful is the mounted shotgun and Ward is the shield.

Starting with Ward, it's an advanced looking ballistic shield with a gun port at the center. It can also be compressed into a smaller, compacted form that looks like an armlet. Then there's the gun port which allows Ciana to fire her mounted shotgun, Prideful, safely behind cover. Prideful packs a nasty punch, capable of disabling an Atlesian Paladin with a point-blank shot. It could also be detached from the shield allowing her to be used independently from the shield.

"I'll help you guys out." Jaune stretched his arms and took off his jacket, "Let me help you with Severance, Ciana."

/-/

"Have we bypass their Security Network?" Dr. Merlot asked his co-worker, Dr. Arthur Watts.

"Only for this particular part of Emerald Forest and Forever Falls, unfortunately." Arthur pointed at the highlighted section of the map. "Those networks are separated from Beacon's main security network, which is how I was able to quickly bypass those. However, it'll take some time for me to hack into the main network."

"Understandable. This sort of experiment requires precise and attentive planning after all. Do you require any assistance from my end?"

Arthur considered Merlot's offer, "I do need someone to help disable several backup generators in this part of the forest."

"I'll send my androids to do the deed then. Shall I mask our efforts under the pretense of these lovely creatures?" Merlot gestured towards a group of mutant Grimm all of whom had glowing green crystals jutting out of their back.

"As much as I would love to see such fascinating creatures in action, I believe it would give ourselves away."

Merlot sighed, "You're right. Forgive me, my mind has been preoccupied these days."

"We all have much on our minds, but let's not be saddened by this. While it is not the time to test run your recent experiments, we have other tools at our disposal to experiment with…"

* * *

**Pardon my grammar.**

* * *

**Harold and Merlot are official canon characters from the RWBY universe.**

**Harold - After the Fall**

**Merlot - Grimm Eclipse**

**Still a bit sick, so somethings might seem empty.**


	11. Chapter 9

**Combat orientated chapter. **

**Getting into the what the VTS and androids can do. I will start mixing up slice of life, science stuff, and combat in future chapters.**

* * *

**Chapter 9:**

Grimm Studies is taught by Professor Port.

The professor is well known for his bombastic tales that put people to sleep or put them into a state of extreme boredom. But recently, the professor has introduced a new component to Grimm Studies. It now has two components in total; one is the boring classroom lecture, and the other one is the so-called 'laboratory method' which is where they make use of the Virtual Training Simulator room.

"Today, we'll be introducing the lab component to our courses in Grimm Studies," Port announced to his second-year students. "Everyone. Follow me. It's about time we actually do some proper hands-on studies against the Creatures of Grimm!"

The students were curious to see what was new this time. Whatever Professor Port has in store for them, surely it beats having to listen to the man's 'tales of younger glories' or whatever the professor calls it these days. Among the second-year students is Team CFVY, who knew what their professor had been planning.

"Now normally, I would catch a Grimm or two myself and put them in a cage so that one of you can fight, but today we have something even better." They entered the restructured old warehouse and were greeted to a polished solid room with strange devices mounted on top of the high ceilings. "Welcome to Grimm Studies Combat Lab!" Port spread his arms out in a grandiose manner before scratching his cheek, "Well… This is officially called the Virtual Training Simulator room, but the lab component will be called Grimm Combat Lab. Err, which one sounds better? Grimm Studies Combat Lab, or Grimm Combat Lab? Ah, never mind. I can figure that one out later."

Coco leaned towards Fox and whispered in his ears, "Ten Liens we're only here because Professor Port likes to use the training room."

"No." Fox flatly refuse to bet against the truth.

"One lucky team will be fighting against a Grimm feared for its ferocity, cunningness, swiftness, and prowess!" Professor Port swiped his fingers in the air, sporting a knowing look. "The same could also be said about its tail!"

Some of the students looked confused.

"Is it a King Taijitu?" One of them asked.

Port shook his head, "An educated guess! But I'm afraid that is not the right answer." Jaune entered the VTS room with his console and gave Professor Port the greenlight. "In today's lesson, you will be fighting the fearsome Sphinx!"

The VTS system overhead glowed dark blue and started to construct a solid hologram version of a large Grimm species known as the Sphinx; a giant feline-like Grimm with wings and a serpent head for a tail that's capable of independent movement and thoughts.

This solid holographic Grimm was more detailed and smoother, even managing to capture the markings of its mask and feathery body. It was thanks to the graphic modification one of Jaune's co-workers sent over from Atlas.

The Sphinx surveyed its potential opponents and reared its head, letting out a near-realistic roar, causing some of the students to step back.

"I really wish we can get better audios for the Grimm," Jaune grumbled as he fiddled with the advanced audio settings.

"Me too lad. Me too." Audio recordings for certain Grimm are hard to come by. Whether its strapping audio recorders on your body or using drones, the more dangerous Grimm are hard to observe and record. "Perhaps I should send out a few requests to my fellow colleagues to get some audio recordings."

Coco cleared her throat, "Ahem. Professor Port. How are we graded in this lab?"

"Ah, excellent question! Once all teams completed a total of three lab combat simulations, they will be evaluated based on their performance." He paused, forgetting to print out the syllabus for the lab. "I forgot to hand you all the syllabus, but don't worry. I will do so tomorrow. In the meantime, which team is bold enough to challenge this fearsome creature?"

The Sphinx and its snake head tail leered at the students in front of them and growled.

"It doesn't look tough," Coco smirked and stepped forward. "You guys wanna take a shot at it?"

One of her teammates, Yatsuhashi cracked his knuckles.

"I am interested in fighting this particular Grimm."

"I'm okay with that." Velvet agreed to the challenge.

"Then it's settled!"

/-/

Team CFVY got changed into their combat attire and passed into the VTS room designated area where the Sphinx laid waiting. The holographic Grimm wasn't given the command to attack, so it stood its ground; waiting for its programming to say otherwise.

"Alright students, remember to stand or stay seated within this barricade."

A waist leveled; solid gray metallic barricade housed the rest of the second-year students. Taped down wires connected the barricade to a backroom generator, powering the forcefield that the barricades will be generating.

"I am activating the forcefield. Please keep everything behind the barricade when I do so." The barricades highlight glowed purple and stabilized, finally shielding the students with a transparent forcefield. "This forcefield will block any stray attacks." Jaune demonstrated by punching forcefield. "Ow. So uh, anyway. Make yourself comfortable in there."

With everyone in their place, Professor Port clapped his hands for their attention. "Now, before we begin. Our technology department head will explain the rules."

"First thing first. The holographic opponents you will be fighting are just as dangerous as the real ones. Please take them seriously." Jaune continued, "Once your aura reached the minimum threshold, your simulated opponent(s) will not actively target you. The VTS system will also notify you on that matter. However, you must leave the designated area immediately, or you may suffer serious injuries. If Professor Port or I feel that anyone is in danger, we will immediately halt or cease the simulation. Any questions?"

Yatsuhashi raised his hand, "What level must our aura be in order to be considered unfit for combat?"

"The current minimum threshold is 20% or lower. We can adjust that to a lower threshold. But for the time being, if your aura is 20% or lower, you will be considered unfit to continue and must leave the designated area."

"So, its tournament style. Only we're fighting against holographic enemies." Velvet had a thoughtful look, her rabbit ears twitching in anticipation.

"That is correct." Professor Port cut in, "Now then, are you ready to begin?"

Team CFVY nodded.

Jaune tapped on his console, "Initiating combat simulation… Now!"

Both the Sphinx head and tail's eyes turned red, announcing their aggression.

Coco immediately revealed her minigun from her purse and aimed it at the Sphinx while Yatsuhashi acted as the vanguard, calculatedly moving towards the holographic Grimm. The Sphinx eyes narrowed at Coco and spread its wings to take flight. Its tail warily hissed at the flanking Fox and Velvet, daring them to close in.

"Yats! Ground it!" The Sphinx opened its mouth, prepping its fire breath, forcing Coco to reconsider her position. "Or not!"

She collapsed her minigun back to pursue form and leaped out of the holographic fireball, avoiding the explosion. Her teammates immediately seized this opportunity to support their team leader. Fox's bladed tonfa swiped at the Sphinx's tail, but the attack was deflected by the snake's fang, giving the Sphinx time to turn around and lunge at Fox.

Just as planned.

While Fox distracts the Sphinx main head, Velvet and Yatsuhashi jumped in and attacked its rear.

The Sphinx's serpent head struck Yatsuhashi's giant sword, pushing him back. It then quickly snapped towards Velvet and bit down on her holographic copy of Fox's weapon. She quickly dispersed her weapon and kicked the snake on the snout.

With the Grimm relentless assault in tow, Fox was forced to regroup with his teammates forming a small parameter around Coco as she revved up the minigun and fired. Her semblance empowered every single bullet she fired, greatly amplifying her firepower. The Sphinx roared and pivot in the sky, craning both heads to avoid a fatal shot while its body gets shredded.

"You like that?" Coco taunted.

The holographic Grimm responded by diving towards them, both mouths opened wide to fire off several fireballs. The attack was intercepted by Velvet and Yatsuhashi, while Coco and Fox laid waste to the holographic Grimm from afar.

The Sphinx roared as both of its wings were ripped apart, losing its ability to fly and fell towards them, managing to twist its body to avoid fatal damage.

"Watch out!" Everyone jumped out of the way.

The floor crunched from the impact and the holographic Grimm bounced off the floor angrily swiping at Coco's shoulder. The fashionista stumbled from the attack, hastily collapsing her minigun and blocking another attack from the Sphinx's tail.

With a roar, the Sphinx recklessly cantered through their defense while suffering extensive damage from the hunters-in-training.

Coco barked out her orders, "Velvet, Fox! Take out the tail! Yats and I will cripple its legs!"

Team CFVY moved quickly, striking at their intended target with precision.

Coco and Yatsuhashi swung their weapons at the Sphinx's joints, managing to land a strike but it wasn't enough to stop its rampage. The Sphinx let out a roar and viciously slammed its head into Coco's heavy purse, sending her flying.

The Sphinx wavered from the recoil of the impact, allowing the rest of her teammates to exploit its moment of weakness.

Yatsuhashi spun his massive blade, cutting part of the Sphinx's paws and cleaving into its legs. However, not even his strength was enough to cut through its legs and as a result, his sword became stuck. The holographic Grimm howled in pain and reared its entire body, dragging the large huntsman-in-training with it.

In its howling, the Sphinx charged up a massive fireball and fired point-blank at Yatsuhashi. Luckily, he reacted in time and released his sword, surfing the explosion before landing perfectly on his feet.

"It's tougher than it looks," Yatsuhashi noted; watching the holographic Grimm dislodged his sword from its leg.

From the Sphinx's rear, Fox and Velvet were partially able to take out one of the snake's eyes before the main body turned its attention on them.

"No, you don't!" Coco shouted and switched her purse back to its minigun form. But before she could unleash another volley, the Sphinx's tail turned and fired two fireballs at her. The projectiles roared towards Coco and Yatsuhashi, forcing them to act quickly. "I got this!"

Coco fired her weapon, striking the fireballs. Upon impact, it erupted into a fiery explosion clouding their vision. The holographic Grimm saw an opportunity and quickly changed priority, swerving its entire body at their visually impaired teammates.

"It's coming towards you!" Velvet shouted.

Fox and Velvet frantically went after the Sphinx, sprinting at full volume to impede its assault. Dodging a fireball launched by the Sphinx's tail, Velvet stopped and utilized Anesidora to summon a holographic copy of Coco's minigun.

The holographic minigun revved up and rained bullets upon the Sphinx's rear, causing it to halt in its advance and roar in pain. The Sphinx's tail managed to avoid taking most of the damage, but it was not in good condition to defend itself from Fox's attack.

The snake hissed and lunged towards Fox only to receive multiple gunshots to its head from the gun compartment of his bladed tonfa. With one swift motion, Fox decapitated the Sphinx's tail, crippling Sphinx's ability to fight.

"Catch!" Fox yelled and kicked Yatsuhashi's sword towards the large figure that was emerging from the smoke.

Yatsuhashi grunted, picking up his weapon without slowing and slashed the Sphinx multiple times. The Sphinx roared and flailed wildly, throwing Fox and Yatsuhashi off. That was a mistake as Coco and Velvet were free to shred the Grimm with impunity.

The field instantly lit up with empowered and holographic bullets, unceremoniously shattering the Sphinx.

Thus concluded the combat simulation.

"Combat simulation has ended." The VTS mechanically announced, "Powering down non-essential functions."

Everyone applauded Team CFVY who looked a bit haggard from the fighting.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Professor Port clapped loudly, "Team CFVY, your performance is truly something. Now, you all will receive a recording of your battle to review and study. This will greatly help you in your path to become a true huntsman and huntress."

"A reflection of our performance." Yatsuhashi sagely nodded.

"Indeed, Mr. Daichi. You are also free to go over it with your peers and teachers. I'm sure they'll have some pointers to give out to you." The professor turned towards the other students, "Now then, which team wish to volunteer for the next simulation?"

While the next team of second-year students geared up, Coco let out an exasperated sigh.

"Ugh, Professor Port really wasn't kidding when he said it was fearsome."

The Sphinx was surprisingly agile in the air, possessed powerful ranged abilities, and had a sentient serpent tail that protected the Sphinx's rear. To top it all off, it was strong and durable despite its stature.

"As the old saying goes, 'never judge a book by its cover.'" Said Yatsuhashi.

Jaune walked over to them and handed back their scrolls. "Here you go. The video files have been transferred over. If something happens to it, let me know and I'll give you another one."

Team CFVY received their scrolls from Jaune.

"Hey, thanks blondie. Pretty cool stuff you have there. That Grimm was really realistic."

Velvet nodded, "Yeah. The reaction to pain and the way it moved… It was uncanny. Oh! In a good way! It really gives us a feel to what we might go up against."

"Thanks. We're working hard on improving the VTS. Most of the simulated enemies; especially the Grimm, were heavily observed and researched in order to create realistic holographic copies."

The concept of 'know your enemies' has been applied heavily to the Creatures of Grimm back in Atlas. Specialized units were outfitted with cameras to record the Grimm in action. The Creatures of Grimm may seem mindless, but they are capable of teamwork. When a pack leader takes control of a large group, the entire dynamic of the Grimm shifts immensely, and it's this particular dynamic that the Grimmologist like Professor Port, is very interested in.

"That sounds like a lot of work." Coco clicked her tongue, "Oh, by the way. I heard rumors that Professor Goodwitch intends on using this place as well. Care to confirm that, blondie?"

/-/

The sound of metal reverberating was all the freshmen could hear as they watched Team CRDL get thrown around by two intimidating combat androids.

"Dove let's –" Whatever Russel was about to say was instantly cut short.

Verdell's halberd weaved through his defense, slashing into his aura in quick succession. Unable to react against the android's blitz, Russell fell to the floor, his aura reserves instantly went from 70% to 28%. Seeing a possible opening, Dove nervously attacked Verdell from behind, but the android quickly slammed the halberd shaft into his guts and struck the boy across the head sending him flying towards Ciana.

Without taking her vision off of Cardin and Sky, Ciana shot the poor boy back at Verdell with her shotgun and began charging towards the two. Her spear extended outward and her shotgun shield laid suppressing fire on the huntsmen-in-training.

Cardin growled and stomped forth. His giant mace spun and deflected the heavy shotgun shells, allowing Sky to prepare their counterattack. Unfortunately, Cardin did not think this one through as Ciana drew closer, taking three shotgun shells at point-blank range followed by a shield bash. Cardin flew back, nearly barreling over Sky.

In the audience, Team RWBY sat next to Team PVLN while the battle continues to rage.

"Oh jeez." Yang winced at the brutal treatment Team CRDL was receiving. "It's almost liked Team CRDL ticked off the androids."

Team PVLN gave each other an awkward glance.

Ciana and Verdell certainly did take offense to Team CRDL calling them walking trashcans and scrap metals.

"Ooooh. Awesome! The androids and their weapons are so cooool!" Ruby's eyes sparkled very brightly.

Weiss couldn't help but agree with her partner. The androids had a life-like feel to them that no other androids seemed to replicate. Plus, they were strong enough to beat down hunters-in-training which is a difficult feat for most human-sized androids.

"Looks like the battle is over." Blake flatly stated. They watched as Ciana caught Sky's halberd by the handle and threw him towards Dove. His screaming caught Dove's attention and the boy leaped just in time to avoid his flailing teammate. "Now they're just toying with them."

Dove quickly lifted his sword and blocked Verdell's attack, nearly collapsing from the impact.

Out of all the members of Team CRDL, Dove Bronzewing appeared to be the most skilled; demonstrating quick recovery and mastery with his sword-gun. Though it was far from enough against either of the androids.

Showers of sparks littered the air as Verdell viciously attacked Dove, quickly overwhelming the boy. Dove's defense was impressive, but just he couldn't keep up, finally giving in when his sword flew out of his hand.

"I-I concede!" Dove cried out as he fell on his rear, his arms raised defensively.

The buzzer buzzed, ending the fight.

Ciana and Verdell instantly stopped and stepped away from the arena, returning to Professor Glynda Goodwitch's side.

Looking satisfied, Glynda stepped forward to address her students. "Students, as you can see. All members of Team CRDL aura has dropped into the red. In a tournament style duel, that would indicate that they are no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match." She eyed Team CRDL who was slowly getting up from the ground. "May this also serve as a lesson to all of you. Never underestimate your opponents. Now, may the next team please stand up?"

Yang shot up from her seat, "Aw yeah! That's us! Come on you guys, it's time for some fun!"

/-/

"Time for some fun, you said," Ruby grumbled with a pouty face on. "Look what they did to my poor baby." She cradled her sniper rifle scythe, Crescent Rose. "I think I saw a six scratch on my baby. My poor baby…"

Yang looked guilty and tried to cheer up her little sister.

"Well. Look on the bright side. We were able to get a tie against those androids." Yang rubbed her arm, "But boy, were they tough. This is the first time I had someone pushed me back with my semblance active."

"Of course, those androids are tough. They were developed with state-of-the-art technology by Jaune Arc himself." Weiss stored away her rapier into her locker. "The young genius and prodigy in robotics who also helped kickstart Atlas technological revolution."

"In any case, we should be proud that we did well against them." Blake quietly joined in.

Everyone paused slightly.

"Yeah. You're right, Blakey."

"I suppose. We did fare better compared to the other teams. It's a shame we didn't get to see Team PVLN in action yet."

Ruby was quietly slipping out of the locker room with her weapon in tow.

"Hold it, sis." Yang caught her sister by her hood, "You know the rules. Professor Goodwitch will have our heads if she saw you bring that out without permission."

"But, but…!" The crimson reaper's eyes went watery, forming into the dreaded puppy eyes.

Yang flinched, "Urk!"

Seeing that Ruby was going to win everyone over, Weiss decided to make the situation a little more favorable for everyone.

"Ruby, let's ask Professor Goodwitch instead of sneaking your weapon out. I'm sure she'll understand." She glanced at the time on her scroll, "It's almost lunchtime anyway, and I am famished."

* * *

**I tried to ensure that Ciana and Verdell are not overpowered, hence the tied against Team RWBY (4 vs 2).**

**Team CRDL is a cut above the average students at Beacon, but not so against the main casts.**


	12. Chapter 10

**Bit of a choppy chapter.**

**Next chapter dwells into the VTS, LISP, and combat.**

**Pardon my grammar. **

* * *

**Chapter 10:**

The Atlesian Angel and Valkyrja could be described as sleek, divine flying mechs, used for mobile combat and reconnaissance. The models possess six or four propulsion wings and are equipped with a wide array of weaponry, making it a lethal Grimm slayer. It's the pride of Atlesian engineering.

But in Vale, it's now seen as an angel of destruction.

With the Atlesian cargo ship hijacked by Roman Torchwick and the White Fang, the Atlesian units were now used for committing robberies. The amount of swift destruction caused by the flying mechs is well documented by the authorities. It's costing the shop owners, insurance companies, and Atlas money each time a Dust store gets hit.

"I see it!"

A SWAT officer leveled his Electromagnetic Pulse Rifle at a soaring Atlesian Valkyrja and fired. Waves of purple pulse grazed the heel of the flying mech slightly, but that was enough to disable the Atlesian Valkyrja, sending it down like a stone being dropped.

"Hit! All units, fall in. Proceed with caution!"

Black clothed SWAT officers started to close in on the downed Atlesian Valkyrja but halted when they heard numerous whooshing sound in the air. They glanced up and saw countless of small missiles raining down on them.

"Fall back!"

"Take cover!"

The small missiles hit the ground, exploding into fine red smoke that heavily coated several blocks. Uncertain if the SWAT team should move in through the smoke or not, they regrouped and tried to find an alternative route while calling for backup. Meanwhile, the culprits made their escape in the reddish smokescreen.

A large eight-legged mech, aka the Armored Araneae Engineer Mech (2AEM), rumbled over the fallen Atlesian Valkyrja. A sturdy arm crane unfurled from the 2AEM and grabbed the disabled flying mech, hoisting it to its back, and securing it with several claws.

"Hey, hey! Easy! You're going to crush me in this flying coffin!" A white fang grunt shouted from inside.

"Do stop complaining." The pilot of the 2AEM was none other than Roman Torchwick himself. "I did warn you about flying in the open." The grunt huffed but remained silent. "Well, I can't really blame you. It is rather fun to pilot those things. Too bad you just have to hang on tight for now."

/-/

"Damn it!" Jaune clenched his fist in anger, upon reading the report. "Ten smash and grab burglaries committed by three Atlesian Angel and Valkyrja. How are they piloting these things effectively in a short period of time?"

Verdell cautious placed a hand on his creator's shoulder. "It was designed for easy piloting. Perhaps there are some naturally talented individuals committing these robberies."

"But they shouldn't be able to learn that quickly without proper instructors or guides." Jaune sighed and flipped through another report. "An eight-legged, heavily armored mech was briefly spotted somewhere near the docks. Must be the missing 2AEM."

The Armored Araneae Engineer Mech was designed for robust construction and combat. It's one of the many mechs designed for reopening Remnant's frontier for exploration and settling, though it's mainly a defensive and utility vehicle.

"It seems Roman Torchwick lives up to his reputation, being able to hide something that large in the city."

"He most likely has gotten some help from someone."

The question is who?

The door to his lab rang. They have visitors.

Jaune pulled up the camera feed and saw Team PVLN standing in front of the door. That's right! He still has to address Pyrrha's semblance. Apparently, her semblance allows her to manipulate polarity, so its technically special magnetism in a sense, or something. He's not knowledgeable on those kinds of things, but he really needs to develop countermeasures for the sake of his androids and Penny.

It may also help him to develop a protective coating or system to counteract possible interference against those with similar semblance. Seriously, there are so many things semblance can do that there's always a possibility for some out-of-the-blue semblance to wreck everyone's day.

He pressed on the mic button and answered, "I'll be right there, you guys."

Ciana and Verdell flanked his side as they made their way to the lab's entrance.

"Who wants to receive Penny's hug?" Ciana asked, "Cause I'm not doing it."

"You're the heaviest and sturdiest out of all of us." Verdell pointed out.

"You shouldn't be rude to a girl like me."

"Don't make me laugh, sister."

"Like you're capable of doing so."

Jaune laughed at their bickering. They may be stronger than most people, but even they didn't want to be on the receiving end of Penny's infamous hugs. "It's been a while since I interacted with Penny. I'll take the blow for you guys to make up to her."

"It's been only a day, but we appreciate it, father."

The lab door opened and Jaune was greeted with a green and orange blur that is Penny. "Salutation!"

"Oof!" Jaune skittered several meters back from the impact, barely able to keep himself standing while he held on to Penny's figure. "H-hey. Penny… Ow. So, glad I didn't eat yet."

That glomp really took the wind out of him.

"Salutation Jaune, Ciana, Verdell! How are you this fine afternoon?" Penny released Jaune and zipped to her android colleagues.

Ciana raised her hand and placed it on top of Penny, stopping her from bouncing up and down. Something good must have happened for her to be bouncing nonstop.

"We're doing well. What got you so happy?"

Penny proudly showed them her test scores. "I've got a one hundred and five on my first math test! The extra five points are from the extra credit questions."

"Well done. Your father would be even more proud of you."

"She also tutored me and Ren." Nora jumped in, bouncing up and down like Penny. "And Renny made me pancakes for getting an A on my math test."

"We grew outside the kingdom," Ren explained while mirroring Ciana in holding Nora down. "Math can be a bit difficult for us to understand at times."

"But you guys did well." Pyrrha smilingly said.

Team PVLN entered the lab room, eyeing at the mechanical wonders that occupied the facilities. The lab was sparklingly clean, thanks to the cute vacuum cleaner and polisher androids, making it very welcoming and somewhat sterile. Jaune's lab wasn't as sleek or high tech like the labs back at Atlas, but it serves its purpose well.

"I'm glad to see you guys getting along very well." Jaune waved them into the inner rooms. "I guess we might have to start over our introduction. I'm Jaune, the current Head of Beacon Department of Technology."

"Verdell Arc. Technically the first android to obtain a soul."

"Ciana Arc. Not that you care."

They briefly bickered and greeted Penny's teammates before moving on to why Jaune asked Team PVLN to be here today. More specifically, Pyrrha Nikos. In order for Pyrrha to not worry about her damaging Penny or any of the androids; both Jaune and Pyrrha agreed that it is best to conduct some tests with her Polarity semblance.

He developed measures to nullify or redirect 'common' magnetism, so it's possible to do the same for hers. They might even get to understand her semblance a little bit more as well.

"Do you guys sleep? Like an actual sleep mode?" Nora innocently asked Ciana and Verdell.

"In a sense, yes. Though unlike most biological creatures, we retain some form of consciousness during when we enter sleep mode." Verdell explained, "It's hard to explain. During our sleep mode, our perception of time passes by at a rapid pace. Think of it as watching a video time-lapse."

Ren nodded, fascinated by Verdell's explanation. The perception of an android with a soul is truly something entirely new to explore. It also calls into question what a soul is, the rules/defining trait of a soul, and so on.

"Does that also apply to you?" Ren politely asked Penny.

Penny, on the surface, appears to sleep like the rest of them. However, she requires some 'charging' in order to be 'fully operational' and sleeping is the only way that kills boredom and time.

"Oh, no. My sleep mode is entirely different than my Ciana and Verdell's. I actually lose consciousness during my sleep, but I am what others would call, a light sleeper."

Everyone became acquainted with one another. Ren and Nora continued their discussion with Ciana and Verdell, while Jaune, Penny, and Pyrrha were awkwardly finding a proper topic to converse on. If Jaune can recall, Penny explained that Pyrrha dislikes being seen as the champion of Mistral's Regional Tournament and prefers to be seen as just another huntress-in-training.

That means don't bring up tournaments, or most stuff regarding her tournament career. Unfortunately, that last bit was vague so that put Jaune in a very awkward position since he's uncertain what they should discuss.

"So… What will we be doing?" Pyrrha had an awkward look on her face, matching Jaune's.

Compared to those two, Penny still retained her cheerful smile.

/-/

"Data recorded. Thanks, Pyrrha." Jaune achieved the data recorded by the sensors he had Pyrrha torment. The full-blown wire-like machinery that was built for intense environmental testing was mangled beyond recognition. "I owe you big time."

He had the machinery lined with metal wires that serve to reroute any magnetism. Each time Pyrrha's semblance affected the machinery, the sensors would pick up on that and transfer over the results for him to skim over. He would then readjust the wires and try again till Pyrrha's semblance was no longer super effective.

It was tedious and repetitive, but at least Pyrrha was able to openly experiment with her semblance in a controlled environment. One step closer to mastering her semblance in her mind.

"You're welcome, and you don't owe me anything. This is for their sake as well."

"An Arc never goes back on his word." Jaune insists he repays them for being here today. The data he gathered will become useful in the future once he processes it with context. "Still the VTS Room and the lab machines are open to you guys."

Today's the weekend. A pretty laidback day at Beacon Academy since there are no classes. All of the students and staff were off doing their own things. Team CFVY were out shopping because Coco wanted to check out clothing, Team RWBY had studying session and weapon maintenances. Ren was discussing with Verdell about semblances, while Ciana watched over Nora and Penny play a fighting game in the back rooms.

It's quite a delightful day.

"I heard many things about the VTS room. What is it? The upper years often talk about it during lunchtime."

Jaune's face brightens up. "VTS stands for Virtual Training Simulation. We refurbish an old warehouse and mounted the system into the building. The VTS generates solid holographic opponents for you to fight. Grimm and humanoids, anything in-between, you name it. I believe you guys will be starting your Grimm Studies and Combat Labs next week. That's where the VTS room comes in."

"That sounds amazing."

"It's pushing technology to its limit and hopefully surpassing it. I can let you guys see and use the VTS room. Do you guys have any plans today?"

"We, unfortunately, do have plans today." Penny popped out of nowhere, startling Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Ah! Penny?! You scared me." Pyrrha placed a hand over her heart.

Jaune nodded in agreement. It's that one aspect of Penny that he didn't really miss. Getting jump scared when he least expects it.

The android girl has the tendencies to appear out of nowhere; somehow teleporting to the opposite side of the building within seconds. The girl is fast when you don't see her. Its truly one of the many mysteries about Penny.

"I am sorry about my sudden appearance." Penny put on her leader's face and put both hands on her hits. "We have scheduled a teamwork learning session today that should start roughly half an hour."

Penny explained that it was Professor Glynda Goodwitch who suggested that Team PVLN work on their teamwork in order to maximize their efficacy in combat.

Individually, they were exceptional fighters and are capable of working together on a whim. However, because they're too good at defeating their opponents, teamwork often gets left out because there's no reason to fall to it if they can curb stomp their opponents. So, Team PVLN decided to head to Emerald Forest to work on their teamwork against the Creatures of Grimm where they are free to try new tactics and indiscriminately destroy everything in their path.

Jaune couldn't help but laugh at that. "I can see the issue. Well, I wish you guys the best of luck and be careful out there. The VTS room is open to you guys as well, so don't forget to drop by and test it out. I can crank up the difficulty on the holographic opponents if needed."

"Yes, sir! Thank you, Jaune!" Penny saluted.

"Thank you for helpings us."

"No, no. Thank you for helping us." Jaune shook hands with Pyrrha. "It was nice meeting you guys. Say, Penny. Did you have fun with the video game console?"

"We did. Nora and I had fun playing a game where both players control a fighting avatar with health bars with the goal of reducing the other's avatar health bar to full red."

Pyrrha and Jaune exchanged glances. Penny does have a way with words, almost verbose sometimes.

"So, who won?" Jaune asked.

"I did. by maneuvering and performing combative action with my virtual avatar through the video game console controller, in order to reduce sister Nora's virtual avatar's health bar to full red. This resulted in my victory." Penny said proudly. She always feels prideful when she accomplishes something. Even the smallest and trivial things.

Pyrrha looked around for their teammates. "But where is Nora?"

The android girl pointed towards a half-pouty Nora, hiding behind Ren. "She may appear to be upset, but sister Nora is playfully sulking."

"Saying sister Nora makes me think of a religious nun." Which is something Jaune or anyone cannot picture in their mind.

Penny looked slightly confused. "Then what should I call her?"

"Just sister should be fine."

"So, just sister Nora or just sister?"

"Uh… Remove the 'just' and her name from the sister." The android girl stared blankly at Jaune. "Like how you call Dr. Polendina, father and General Ironwood uncle."

"Oh."

/-/

"That's Dr. Watts to you, Cinder – dear."

Cinder scowled but didn't have much of a choice but to compile if she wishes to make use of Atlas stolen technology. She curses Atlas for innovating beyond her typical technological comprehension, leaving only Dr. Arthur Watts knowledgeable in the field. It has elevated him to a much higher position, and they irked her to no end.

But, if they want to make use of their stolen tech, then she'll have to work with Dr. Watts.

"Dr. Watts." Cinder hissed out the 's' in his name. "Have you completed what Salem, and by extension, myself; ask for?"

The man rolled his eyes. He found Cinder to be nearly two-dimensional at times, so dull, narcissistic, and pathetic.

"It's already been done. I've ensured that the backdoor is installed within their main Security Network. They would not be able to detect it unless they physically inspect the backup generators which we used to infiltrate their system. Is that all you have to say to me?"

"… You. Have. My. Sincerest. Appreciation." She cannot keep going on like this.

"Ah, much better." Dr. Watts chuckled, making Cinder want to punch his face. "As for your damage stolen goods, I suppose I can take a look at them and make a few adjustments. Have those move towards Mountain Glenn. I'll take it from there."

Call ended.

/-/

Team CFVY was back from their shopping spree and were cooped up in their dorm, resting after being dragged around by Coco. Their physical training regimen was nothing compared to Coco's incentive hunger for fashion, making them all exhausted.

Except for Velvet.

She wanted to work on her camera weapon, Anesidora and went straight to Jaune's lab after coming back from the mall.

"Alright. I think the memory chip should be integrated without any user interface glitch this time." Jaune stepped back from Anesidora and let Velvet test it out for herself. "Hopefully, that resolves our issues as well."

Velvet closed the screen and clipped back her viewfinder. An interface popped up on her screen, allowing Velvet to go through a selection of weapons she built up over the last few months.

"The interface is smooth. No more glitching." She stopped in front of Ruby's scythe weapon, Crescent Rose. Her finger hovered over the button that'll begin the construction process. "Here we go."

Both held their breath as a holographic version of Crescent Rose started materializing. No spazzing, no flickering. A good sign.

"Three down, one more to go."

It's been a week since they worked on Anesidora. They've resolved the Dust cartridge and filter, installed the memory card, and updated the user interface to go with the new features. The next and last bit they'll have to see is if the holographic weapons still retain its limited use problem, which it shouldn't after the installation of the memory card.

"Is the timer counting down?" Velvet asked Jaune while she swung her holographic scythe around.

"Yup, just a few more seconds left." He started the count down. "3… 2… 1… 0." They stared at the holographic weapon, expecting it to disappear. "Give it a few seconds?"

Velvet grinned, "It seems to be enough. I also can't thank you enough for this."

With Anesidora now possessing a memory card, she doesn't have to worry about stocking up photocopies nor rely solely on Anesidora. Her camera now has a scan function to copy other photos and store it in its memory, freeing up Velvet's time. She can also transfer images from the CCT network, so she now has access to a very wide variety of weapons to choose from.

All of this was done within a week, and she truly couldn't be more grateful to Jaune.

"Oh, no problem. It was fun working on Anesidora." Jaune heaved a spherical, multi-lens projector into view. It was the Light Intelligence Spheroid Projector or LISP. "It also brought me back to this guy."

"What is it?"

"This is LISP. Light Intelligence Spheroid Projector. It's actually what kickstarted some aspects of the Virtual Training Simulation system. Think of it similar to Anesidora, only it doesn't just copy weapons. It can copy an entire person. It's practically the predecessor of the VTS holographic training bots."

"That's amazing." Velvet attached her camera to her waist, place the holographic scythe down on the solid table and leaned closer to inspect the spherical bot. "It's vastly different than what one would expect from an early rendition."

From this spheroid to a giant mounted ceiling system, evolution for technology can be a very strange and sudden thing. Maybe not as strange as biological evolution, but you get the point.

"Want to see a brief demonstration?"

"I would love too."

He placed it on the table and activated LISP with his PDA. LISP hummed and floated off from the table. It started gliding towards the center of the room at a respectable distance and started projecting bluish light from its multiple lenses.

Within seconds, an average-sized holographic Beowolf was standing in the center of the room.

"It won't attack. The eyes aren't red." He assured Velvet, though chances are she can easily take it out with ease if it is.

"Woah. It really is like the VTS ones. You said it can observe and copy our movements?"

"Yup, it can." Jaune inputted several commands, transforming the holographic Beowolf into her team leader, Coco Adel. It has her hat, sunglasses, clothes, and even her pursue. "Weapons, movements, and to some extent, semblances."

"That's so cool…"

"Technology is amazing." He nodded and glanced over to her holographic scythe. "Hm. Looks like your holographic weapons no longer have a time limit to it."

"Ah, you're right." She picked up her holographic weapon. "I think we've done it."

Her holographic weapons no longer have a limited duration or usage. A huge upgrade with minimum changes to its physical appearance and basic functionality. Velvet and Anesidora are no longer restricted from their full potential. She can truly go all out now.

The school years from here on out is going to be fun for the rabbit faunus.

"Cheers to that. Also, that's quite a look you're making."

* * *

**Pardon my grammar.**


End file.
